The Republican Party appears whiter. Even Party members are worried about the GOP shift towards genes. Since the onset of the Trump Administration, we’ve seen a push–whether intentional or unintentional–towards ridding the Party of its diversity. Whether its Latino Republican leaders “worried” (and rightfully so) about Trump’s sweeping anti-immigrant agenda hurting their constituents or legal immigrants feeling increasingly left out and hurt by political discourse, the Republican Party is losing its diversity– the thread that helped them secure the Executive Office in 2024.
(That is another piece coming up: the recent Republican rejection of Latinos–their constituents who embody freedom and family, once Conservative values.)
Regardless of who’s under attack, what’s clear is who isn’t under attack: white, blonde Republicans. The icing on the cake in such a precarious political moment–one when Democrats and Republicans alike are wondering what’s happening to the GOP–was, of all things, an American Eagle ad featuring none other than Hollywood sweetheart Sydney Sweeney.
The Infamous Ad
In American Eagle’s latest jeans ad campaign, featuring Sweeney in a busty denim top and flared jeans, she purses her lips to the camera with the message, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” By the way, the focus did not seem to be on her jeans or her lower body in any of these shots. The jeans, ultimately, appear to be more of an accessory to her chest and a dog. (Very modern Americana, no?)
Okay, but that’s not the bad part of the ad campaign. If that was it, we wouldn’t be here. Then comes the version with Sweeney speaking.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,” she says. The next shot is of her blue eyes. “My jeans are blue.”
And in the photo shown above, you can see how American Eagle jeans don’t seem to be in the limelight. In fact, the text even goes over the jeans but lets Sweeney’s bust and hair shine.
The Internet reacted harshly to Sweeney’s ad. And, consequently, American Eagle took the ad down. Some say the ad promotes eugenics. Others are mad at the sexualization of women. Harvard Lecturer Erik Baber denounced the ad, posting on X, “Our culture is absolutely cooked.”
Long story short, what was intended–supposedly–as a harmless jeans ad sparked online debate, given all the ongoing political cues and cultural climate. And to American Eagle, if this was the case, could you be more stupid?
These sort of pop culture advertisements don’t exist in a vacuum, immune to ongoing political phenomena and discourse. To say otherwise would be ignorant. Ads mean something, and they mean something especially in the context of a given moment. We can agree that jeans are American. So, what does it mean when you take the token white woman in Hollywood as the spokesperson for jeans talking about her eye color and hair color while flaunting her body? Is that what America is?
Well, maybe we’re the stupid ones critiquing the ad, because while we sit here online, American Eagle profits. (The company still had to apologize, though.)
But let’s make one thing clear: Sweeney does not model what conservatism is. And she’s not a model for what 21st century conservatism should be.
President Trump Hops in the Arena
Most recently, President Donald J. Trump entered the conversation on Sydney Sweeney, after a reporter asked him his thoughts on her political affiliation. Trump appeared rather intrigued and excited by the question. (Probably, because it was a break from chatter about Epstein, Israel, and Russia.) Upon learning that Sweeney is a registered Republican, Trump replied, “Oh. Now I love her ad. Is that right?…You’d be surprised how many people are Republicans. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.”
Later that day, Trump followed up on the pop culture momentum. He posted on Truth Social, “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get em’ Sydney!”
First, ew. Second of all, ew. But compared to the President of the United States, the people have had an even bigger, more ew-inducing reaction across the Internet. Even if this is supposed to be light, fun pop culture conversation with the President, he has to be aware of the message he’s sending out. And he has to be aware that a huge segment of America is being othered not only by his Administration and Republican rhetoric, but also by the companies where they buy jeans.
American Eagle provoked a sense of otherness to all those who don’t have Sweeney’s jeans. For everyone who doesn’t fit the blue-eyed, blonde hair trope, they’re out of the cultural movement.
The People’s Reaction to Red Sweeney
We’ve seen men on the Internet gawk over Sweeney. And now, conservative men continue gawking with new undertones. And as a woman, it’s gross–most of it, at least. I mean, just go onto the comments under a post of Sweeney, and you can see for yourself.
It’s gross for my generation, for those who are chronically online. It’s gross to see so much discourse over a woman’s body. And, it’s gross to see Sweeny herself lean into these superficial comments, playfully and gleefully commodifying her sexuality when so many women don’t have a choice.
And now, for many conservative men, she’s no longer just a sexual icon–she’s a cultural one.
After The Guardian reported that Sweeney is a Republican, the discourse from conservative men about Sweeney’s icon status has only soared. (A few years ago, Sweeney came under fire for a post for her mother’s birthday, where one of the guests was wearing a MAGA hat, so we can only guess what she and her community think about the President.)
For some GOP voters, Sweeney is their newest pop culture savior. She’s a sexy, blonde, big-chested woman in Hollywood who’s a Republican! But, GOP voters need to reconsider Sweeney as their new cultural leader.
Sweeney Isn’t Conservatism, She’s Modern Hollywood
To all the Republicans who have adopted Sweeney as one of them, she does not embody conservatism. Nor does she want to. Sweeney is Hollywood–plain and simple. While conservative attitudes towards modesty are somewhat scattered, Sweeney rejects all notions of modesty for chosen self-objectification. Whether it was her comments during her SNL monologue, when she “practically begged” the cast to make jokes about her chest, or her most recent bathwater soap project, Sweeney’s chosen Hollywood sexualization over true femininity.
I mean, come on! Did we really forget about the bath soap? It was just over a month ago when Sweeney used her bathwater to make soap. Some on the left praised Sweeney for her bold reaction to public discourse about her. I do not. She could have condemned all those voices as gross or disgusting, or give those obsessed with her physique no reaction at all, but bathwater soap?
It’s self-objectification under a pitiful guise of empowerment. Making the conscious decision to market her body, she’s turning herself into a commodity. And she’s masking spectacle as satire.
Is that the new conservative way? I don’t think so.
One more thing–Sweeney’s American Eagle ad? It was supposed to be a charitable endeavor. Technically, it still is. The “Sydney” jeans have a butterfly on the back pocket–representative of domestic violence awareness–and proceeds from those jeans go to a mental health crisis hotline. So, let’s get this straight–she used her body and a weird, unsettling genes story to support these causes? Got it.
Republicans Don’t Need Sydney Sweeney–They Need Diversity
Admittedly, Sweeney can’t do anything right. She’s either too sexual or not sexual enough; she walks a thin line, always. But one thing is clear–this ad campaign isn’t okay. It’s not a matter of women hating other women, anti-wokeness, or the left being too sensitive. It’s a matter of ads being symbolic of a cultural moment. This ad leaves out so many people, people who already feel left out during this political cycle.
So, what are we seeing? Is Sweeney’s ad campaign indicative of a new cultural movement, taking us back to the era before wokeness and body positivity? A return to what many Republicans would like to see as “real America”? Regardless of what we take this ad to mean, the irony of the jeans and the genes couldn’t be more clear. And, Republicans need to consider whether they want to get behind this cultural rhetoric.
To Republicans touting Sweeney as their newest GOP icon, consider looking elsewhere. She isn’t conservative, and she’s not what Republicans need. Republicans need–now more than ever–to invest in diversity.
Photo credit: American Eagle.
