Source : Perth Now news
Experts have raised the alarm over the controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign for sports betting company Novig, arguing it is “regressive” and could send the wrong message about female athletes to young boys.
The Euphoria actress made waves after stripping down to almost nothing for the advertisement, with shots of her straddling a basketball ring and holding sports equipment over her nude body.
“Novig is just sports,” she said.
The ad received backlash from athletes and politicians, such as Community Strong Australia MP Zali Steggall, who labelled it a “new low”.
‘Exhausted’: Female athletes rage
The sexualisation of women in sports is nothing new, with several female athletes taking part in nude photo shoots to promote their team or a sporting event.
These have been few and far between in recent years, however, as the mindset about female athletes shifts away from hyper-sexualisation towards heralding female strength and resilience.
Athletes blasted Sweeney for the racy ad, claiming it would do little to reduce the sexualisation of female athletes and women in sport.
One of the loudest critics was Australian Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus, who labelled the ad as not only a “kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft but every (woman) who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellent, unity”.
“I thought we were genuinely moving past this bulls**t,” she said on Instagram.
“What is this teaching the young men and women of today?”
Melbourne counsellor Jacintha Field said female athletes had “spent years fighting to be seen, respected and taken seriously” and were “exhausted” by the conversation.
“They have fought for equal recognition and to have their achievements recognised as achievements, rather than having the conversation constantly brought back to their bodies and appearance,” she said.
“That is why I think the response is bigger than this one advertisement. Female athletes are exhausted from having to keep having this conversation.”
Danger to young boys
While the ad has been criticised for harming women and young girls in sport, experts said it was detrimental to young boys, too.
Perth-based psychologist Kerstin Anderson-Ridge said “female athletes have worked incredibly hard to be recognised for what their bodies can do rather than simply how their bodies look”.
“For a young boy watching sport, we want him to see a female swimmer, footballer or runner and think about her talent, discipline, strength and achievement in exactly the same way he would when watching a male athlete,” she told NewsWire.
Psychotherapist Julie Sweet told NewsWire she thought the Sweeney ad was “extremely regressive”.
“My concern isn’t Sydney Sweeney choosing to express her sexuality – women absolutely have agency over their own bodies,” she said.
“It’s the context. We have a sports-related company using a highly sexualised female body to capture attention and ultimately promote a product connected to gambling.”
Sexualised athletes
Ms Sweet said the campaign told young boys that “women’s bodies are part of the entertainment surrounding men’s sport, rather than women being athletes, professionals and competitors in their own right”.
She said while one ad “doesn’t determine a child’s attitude towards men”, the campaign failed to help female athletes be taken seriously, instead reducing them to little more than something sexual.
“Children learn through repetition, observation and social modelling,” she said.
“When boys repeatedly see women positioned as decorative or sexual objects while men are more commonly positioned as the competitors, commentators or consumers, those associations can begin to feel normal.”
While there should not be outcry over teenage boys finding Sweeney’s body attractive, Ms Sweet said the focus should instead be about the lesson the campaign taught young boys.
“We don’t want boys growing up believing attraction or sexual curiosity is somehow shameful,” she told NewsWire.
“Boys are developing their ideas about women, relationships and masculinity from everything around them. If they repeatedly see women presented as bodies to look at, comment on or rate, particularly in spaces where women are actually achieving extraordinary things, it can subtly influence what they come to see as normal.”
Key message
As boys grow in an online space, Ms Anderson-Ridge said it was imperative parents were “interested in the whole environment around him”.
“A boy might see this advertisement and think very little of it,” she told NewsWire.
“But another boy may already be consuming online content telling him that masculinity is about dominance, sexual success, money and status or that women exist partly for male approval.”
Teenagers and children were “constantly absorbing language, behaviour and attitudes from the people around them”, she said.
“Children are always watching and learning,” Ms Anderson-Ridge said
“They learn from social media, but they also learn in the playground, at school, from their friends, teachers, other parents and, importantly, from what happens at home.”
Ms Anderson-Ridge said parents should keep the discussion open and honest, rather than “controlling everything they see”.
“We can ask them, ‘Why do you think they chose that image? What are they trying to make you feel? What are they actually selling? (or) Why do you think this got so much attention?’” she said.
“Those questions teach children to recognise intent and understand that advertising is designed to influence them.”
