Sydney Sweeney: Fashion Campaign Sparks Eugenics Debates

Photo by Jay Dixit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The collaborative campaign between American Eagle, a fashion brand specializing in jeans, and Sydney Sweeney, one of the most popular actresses of recent years, has generated controversy and criticism on social media. The launch of this campaign has sparked conversations about genetics, beauty standards, and the transformation of eugenic ideas in the contemporary context. 

This campaign has attracted the attention of prominent figures on both sides of the political spectrum across the United States. Viewing this campaign as an opportunity to demonstrate the ideological divide between the two political identities, several right-wing political spokespeople in the United States have come forward to defend Sweeney following her participation in this controversial campaign.

Sydney Sweeney and her Jeans/Genes

The campaign between American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney started earlier this year. The actress, famous for roles in productions such as Euphoria, became the face of American Eagle, particularly its line of jean jeans. 

The campaign slogan is “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” This slogan is a play on words: “jean” sounds almost identical to the word “genes,” which refers to a person’s genetic makeup. In this way, the campaign praises Sweeney’s jeans, while also praising the genetic makeup they contribute to her appearance. 

This is the point that has generated so much controversy on social media. Saying someone has "good genes" is a relatively common way of praising their appearance. However, some figures have criticized the closeness of this idea to eugenic concepts. Eugenics is a pseudoscientific branch of science that maintains the importance of preserving certain genetic elements through intentional mating. It was studied and supported by Hitler's Nazis during the Holocaust.

It's important to note that neither American Eagle nor Sydney Sweeney have communicated that these eugenic references were intentional.

Relevant Reactions 

The reactions of prominent political figures to this announcement have contributed to the popularity of this story. Right-wing figures appear poised to defend Sweeney's campaign:

“They’re calling her a white supremacist for an ad they didn’t like, which is for American Eagle. She’s promoting jeans, and yet the crazy people on the left think she’s promoting white supremacy. Obviously, this is a reference to her body, not her skin color, but the lunatic left will do what lunatic lefts do. I love how the left’s meltdown over Sydney Sweeney’s ad has only resulted in a white, blonde, blue-eyed girl getting a thousand times more exposure because of her ‘good genes.’” Former Fox News Host, Megyn Kelly.

“Cancel culture has gotten out of hand. This twisted, idiotic, obtuse liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024. They’re fed up with this garbage.” – Communications Manager for the White House, Steven Cheung.

It seems surprising that this conflict has moved into the political arena. However, the debate between diversity and traditional ideas of race and gender are the most contentious fronts on which these two American ideologies clash. We'll see if Sydney Sweeney, who has enjoyed a rapid and definitive rise to stardom, is affected by all this controversy. 

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Sources:

• AP NEWS