Sydney Sweeney Calls Total BS on Hollywood Over the Fake Idea of 'Women Empowering Other Women'
It's tempting to watch the ladies in your life interacting with their girlfriends and think women are just better at the whole friendship thing than the fellas are. Their get-togethers just seem to consist of a lot more shared feelings, honest communication and emotional support, and a lot less Norm MacDonald jokes.
That difference is even more pronounced when you're looking at their lens through the prism of social media posts. From that perspective, it's all sorority girl group shots, cheek-to-cheek hugs, YASSS Queening, Brat Summer and wine glass-holding. Whereas a friend of mine once pointed out, the only time a group of guys says "This place is great; let's get a group photo," is when they just finished up a round of golf.
But that's viewing the situation through a particularly narrow lens. According to noted expert on the subject - and if my guess is correct, a grown woman herself - Sydney Sweeney, the interpersonal dynamic between females is not all it's cracked up to be.
You may remember her taking some flak from someone in her own industry back in the spring:
Daily Mail - 'She's not pretty, she can't act,' claims Carol Baum, whose films include Father of the Bride and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Baum, speaking with New York Times film critic Janet Maslin before an audience of fans [said] 'I don't get Sydney Sweeney. ... Explain this girl to me. She's not pretty, she can't act. Why is she so hot?'
It's safe to say that, however you feel about Sweeney's relative prettiness, there's no doubting she's had it with the bitchy cattiness directed at her from the very same types of female Hollywood power brokers who claim to be there to support other women trying to make their way in the industry:
Source - This spring, your team fought back when a producer called your looks and talent into question. Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence have discussed the tendency to knock women performers down when they’re at their professional peak. Why do you think that is?
It’s very disheartening to see women tear other women down, especially when women who are successful in other avenues of their industry see younger talent working really hard—hoping to achieve whatever dreams that they may have—and then trying to bash and discredit any work that they’ve done. This entire industry, all people say is “Women empowering other women.” None of it’s happening. All of it is fake and a front for all the other shit that they say behind everyone’s back.
I mean, there’s so many studies and different opinions on the reasoning behind it. I’ve read that our entire lives, we were raised—and it’s a generational problem—to believe only one woman can be at the top. There’s one woman who can get the man. There’s one woman who can be, I don’t know, anything. So then all the others feel like they have to fight each other or take that one woman down instead of being like, Let’s all lift each other up. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m just trying my best over here. Why am I getting attacked?
Why indeed? What could ever motivate a successful show business executive in her 70s to express so much resentment toward this popular young star who's simply out there hustling, landing roles, and doing her job, which is putting asses in movie seats? I can't come up with a single reason …
There's not much to add beyond what I said in that original piece from April:
This just goes to show that you can take the 70ish year old woman out of high school, but you can't take the high school out of her. You can be one of the most successful females in show business for 40 years. But that doesn't mean you don't have a little Regina George in you.
My question is, why is a successful female movie executive questioning her physical appearance? Aren't we supposed to have evolved beyond this as a culture? Sometime around #MeToo, didn't we all agree that looks-shaming actresses is wrong? That it's harmful? That it leads to all sort of serious consequences, from body dysmorphia to depression to addiction and worse? Frankly, I thought we moved past body-shaming women thanks to stunning and brave body positive celebrities like Lena Dunham and Lizzo. I guess I was too optimistic. And we have a long way to go as a culture.
And I'll say now, as I did at the time, regardless of how much Sydney Sweeney is a victim of chick-on-chick crime, no matter how much pushback she gets from wealthy elites who are trying to run her down because they don't find her aesthetically pleasing to the eye, I will continue to support her. To be an ally. And to speak out against this brand of Toxic Femininity. You keep doing you, Sydney. Don't let the bastards drag you down.