I wouldn't tell anyone how to feel about it, but I certainly think you have a right to feel however you feel about it. I think this has less to do with POC and more to do with a specific type of terminally online brain that looks for leaps like this to make
It was never really a white-specific thing anyway. "Good genes" is often cited when people talk about beauty or some sort of skill.
I think the issue is that implying "good genes" exist also implies the existence of "bad genes" when it comes to physical appearance. That's the eugenics part of this, American Eagle (who I fault for this ad FAR more than I do Sydney Sweeney) is making the connection that having blonde hair, blue eyes, and big tits makes you better than others. It's lazy and in today's political climate, doesn't really have a place (and especially not for a company that also runs an inclusivity-focused underwear brand that prides themselves on not retouching photos). They knew what they were implying and how it would be received, AE is a billion dollar brand with a whole team of marketing staff who approved this. I can't really hate on Sydney Sweeney for it, she didn't write the copy or develop the ad, she's just cashing the check for the appearance just like she did with Dr. Squatch. Hell, she's the face of half the brands in Sephora these days and is endorsing a bunch of competing brands (Miu Miu, Armani, Guess, Savage Fenty, Parade). Her 15 minutes are almost up and she's capitalizing on it while she can.
Idk if you’ve been in a coma the past 9 months but woke us dead. White pride is back and so is the unapologetic objectification of women and unrealistic beauty standards /s
i don't think it's a non-issue--obv eugenics bad--but i do think the internet is blowing it out of proportion, it's a pretty popular pun to make. my initial point was the level of outrage at certain things--and lack thereof at others--feels very gendered. i don't think that's off topic for this thread (tho maybe the convo veered off course). aside from this ad idk how Sydney is shitty tho.
So… no one’s going to provide any insight as to why Sydney deserves to be labeled as shitty? I find it very strange that multiple people have asked, seemingly in good faith, and haven’t received a single response.
I do not understand how anyone is mad at the American Eagle thing... Some people are objectively attractive and have good 'genes' (IE - good looking) and it's just saying 'hey you, you probably average looking person, come at least dress well and look stylish - you can't change how you look, but you can change your fashion'. There's nothing sinister, offensive, or racist about it. Such a non story and it's even worse now that the right are obsessed with it and are labelling it as a 'the left is out of touch' for being upset story. Such a stupid cultural news cycle we live in where every action has to be studied and the intent determined. Nobody needs to dig deep into 'what do they mean by genes? if there's good genes, there's bad genes so hey American Eagle, tell us what the bad genes in the world are!'. Also fuck Jared Leto. I do not understand how he's escaped being someone people avoid working with. My wife is in the same boat as ya'll... absolutely loved Tron Legacy and is really not happy about this one.
They're calling it eugenics and even going so far as to say it's Nazi propaganda, which is kinda a stretch, but I do get where they're coming from. Then again, maybe it is silly to expect marketing for big corporations to make ads ethically without pandering to the political climate. At the end of the day, I still think Sydney made a stupid decision saying yes to it in the first place, but I don't think that alone definitively means she's a shitty person
Pretty stupid ad. I don't think Sweeney deserves criticism beyond just for having no instincts and probably having a team of dumb people around her that didn't warn her or see this coming. Typical dumb out to lunch actor shit. Doesn't imply inherent maliciousness on her part.