My body your political battleground: OPED
Enes Kanter wore a shirt with the dictionary definition of “woman” to a WNBA game claiming to be “protecting women and girls.” Sydney Sweeney wore two footballs over her breasts while advertising a sports gambling platform. Why do we appear to be evolving backwards?
The female body has often been a point of political contention. Our bodies have always seemed to exist in the context of taboos, sex, and policing. They’ve been institutionalized, both as a tool of control and also a weapon of “temptation,” our physical existence turned into a talking point or a news headline. In the modern era, the table seemed to be turning as the younger generations boasted body positivity, and agency over our bodies became more or less an established norm. The overturn of Roe v Wade, however, represented a major blow to the accomplishments of centuries of feminist advocates, and was more broadly representative of cultural shifts– women’s bodies were undeniably at the center of political dialogue yet again.
Aiming to capitalize on the pendulum swing, conservative lawmakers appealed to the fear of many voters by putting women’s bodies at the forefront once again. This time it was transgender women; their bodies were now a weapon and a threat to “real” women. They were depicted as “bathroom predators” (which was debunked) or accused of being “too masculine” (what they really meant is too good) for women’s sports. It was a clear appeal to fear that captured the attention of many Americans and news headlines. Behind the facade of protection, however, it’s quite evident that these dialogues aren’t about protecting women, but rather excluding trans women and policing their bodies. The utterly flabbergasting reality is the fact that there are no known active transgender female professional athletes. Those advocating against transgender women in sports are arguing for virtually nothing. News coverage and headlines surrounding people like Enes Kanter make it appear as if we have a crisis at hand. We do not. These publicity stunts are only aiming to appeal to our emotions (even if that’s anger) because it takes us away from real, tangible societal issues that the far right would like us to forget about. There were undoubtedly more people talking about Sydney Sweeney’s sports gambling ad this week than the upcoming midterms or the thousands of civilians killed in Iran. For that matter, there have been more eyes on Sweeney’s ad than women's sports as a whole. The WNBA has been hitting record highs in viewership and attendance this year, and these are the facts that matter to those who truly care. This success is offset by people like Enes Kanter and Sophie Cunningham (WNBA Player and Anti-Trans Advocate) who direct the dialogue to political rhetoric that has little to do with the league (no transgender women, even at a collegiate level, is actively playing competitive basketball).
It’s quite obvious that Sweeney is not representative of women's sports, her ad was clearly targeting young men (who have been victims to the worst sports gambling crisis we’ve ever seen) and the anger and shock of the rest of the general public. The company she was advertising was relatively obscure before this, they wanted your attention (good or bad). And it worked. While it’s important to express concern about these forms of advertising, it should also be noted that male celebrities like LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Tom Brady, and Jaime Foxx (just to name a few) are also actively promoting sports gambling websites. However, when a woman uses her body to achieve the same goal, suddenly the issue is political. Women's bodies have always been political, and we have NEVER had full control over it. What we do have control over is the way we choose to discuss these topics. Sweeney’s ad was aimed to create anger, the very emotion conveyed all over social media right now. This anger is fruitless unless we turn it into tangible action. Let this not be about her (or how she chose to use her body) but perhaps we can turn it into conversations about sports gambling and the devastating impact it’s had and will continue to have.
The woman’s body has never been hers alone. The burdens we carry everyday are not solely physical when our bodies have been branded and objectified. But our bodies are not a headline, a weapon, or a talking point. So even as our government tries to strip us of autonomy, and our culture squeezes us into impossible molds of commercial perfection, it's imperative we do not forget the power we wield. You are not obligated to feed into narratives constructed to evoke anger, but you should feel obligated to protect the woman around you. Protecting women doesn’t mean validating a certain type of body while discarding another. True protection is not built upon hatred because our bodies are not a vessel for ideology.
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