Sydney Sweeney’s Body Sparks Debate Among Men Who’ve Never Seen One Up Close

Tell me you've never slept with a woman, without telling me you've never slept with a woman.

Mystery drones are flying overhead, Europe is falling apart, and yet thousands of men on the internet have decided their most urgent concern is whether Sydney Sweeney, the woman they collectively crowned Hollywood’s hottest, is actually hot enough.

After creep shots of Sweeney lounging in her own pool, at her own house, were sold and plastered across the internet, some men felt personally betrayed—not by the violation of her privacy, but by the audacity of her body to exist without photoshop. To them, her unfiltered poolside photos were proof that women have been “catfishing” men by failing to look like the AI-generated they’ve seen on reddit.

How dare she not conform to the male gaze of a camera she didn’t even know was watching her!!

this tweet got 34 million views god help us.

One commenter complained, “Too pale, and she needs to lose a few pounds around the middle.” Another declared, “Nothing attractive about her.” These groundbreaking insights were often paired with side-by-side comparisons of her creepy poolside photos and professionally lit, styled, and edited red carpet shots, as though women biologically wake up in full glam and with a wind machine blowing on their face.

This particular outrage is damaging to women, for obvious reasons. As my friend Hannah aptly said, “If Sydney Sweeney’s not hot, we’re all trolls.” But what’s under-appreciated is how deeply bad news this is for men. If Sweeney, by their own impossibly warped standards, isn’t hot enough, what hope do they have of connecting with real, flesh-and-blood women who exist in three dimensions?

Many critics were quick to point out that the men attacking Sweeney’s appearance were probably virgins—an accusation that might have been purely comedic a decade ago but now hits uncomfortably close to reality. In 2021, almost 17% of men aged 18-30 reported being virgins, a significant rise from previous generations. Nearly half of single men in this group also claim to be voluntarily single, but the reasons are varied.

Some avoid the opposite sex entirely, preferring the curated perfection of online porn, where women conveniently lack muffin tops, flyaways, or the audacity to relax in natural, comfortable positions. Others steer clear of dating out of fear—fear of offending, fear of rejection, or fear of unintentionally crossing a line. Rather than navigating the complexities of real-life relationships, they simply opt out altogether.

are we in our avoidant era?

But let’s be clear: this isn’t all men. It’s a specific subset shaped by loneliness, bad internet algorithms, and the manosphere’s relentless grift. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube exploit their insecurities, radicalizing them. Instead of fostering connection or understanding, these spaces turn frustration inward, then outward—toward women. Criticizing Sydney Sweeney isn’t about her. It’s about projecting feelings of rejection and helplessness onto someone they’ll never meet.

And let’s be honest: this isolation doesn’t make these men happier. They’re told women are the enemy, and relationships are power struggles, when in reality, they’re being robbed of the vulnerability and joy that come with connection. Instead of love and acceptance, they’re left tweeting about how Sydney Sweeney is “mid.”

Which brings us to this week’s other tragedy: Machine Gun Kelly allegedly cheating on Megan Fox—again—while she was pregnant. These betrayals aren’t as unrelated as they seem. Both prove that women cannot base their self-worth on men’s opinions or actions. Whether it’s internet trolls dissecting Sydney Sweeney’s body or the fact that even Megan Fox gets cheated on, the lesson is clear: stop personalizing men’s judgments. They reflect men, not you.

Sydney Sweeney will be fine. Megan Fox will be fine. But will these men? Tearing women down won’t fill the void, and it won’t bring love or self-esteem. The solution isn’t rejecting women—it’s rejecting the voices convincing you to hate them.

For men, the takeaway is equally clear: tearing women down doesn’t make you powerful or confident—it just makes you lonelier. Real confidence comes from connection, not tired scripts about control or judgment. If the manosphere is selling you anger, maybe it’s time to stop buying.

Maybe it’s time for all of us—women and men—to stop playing these pointless games and focus on being better to ourselves and each other. We’re all human, and if you can’t see the beauty in that, no amount of airbrushed photos will ever be enough.