Money talks as female icons trade dignity, feminist agency for fame, fortune

Bonnie, ‘Brina, and blue jeans continue to spark controversy by profiting off of their sexual nature, leaving viewers to decide if these women hit a stroke of promotional genius at the price of their moral values. The three blonde haired and blue eyed celebrities: Bonnie Blue, Sabrina Carpenter, and Sydney Sweeney have found themselves in waves of online discourse, and as a result reeling in millions from their separate campaigns. Sweeney is believed to have made around 40 million for her ad campaign with American Eagle; Carpenter comes in a close second, estimating 33 million from her Short and Sweet tour, and Bonnie Blue has flexed over one million from her “1000 Guys” stunt alone. It’s no secret these ladies are Scrooge McDucking it in their so called ‘dirty’ money, meaning their scrutinized stunts have been highly profitable among audiences, even with online criticism. 

Sweeney has garnered a reputation for playing siren type characters, her most famous being Cassie in Euphoria. Seeing as audiences already expect her to play into these kinds of roles, her ad campaign: ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,’ fits into her mold perfectly. However, the majority of viewers found her ads more disturbing rather than sexy. How sexy can blue jeans really be? American Eagle’s jeans are nothing short of ordinary, making the message confusing at best, not to mention it fails to acknowledge the target audience. Sweeney can be seen walking around a bare room head to toe in American Eagle denim, with close up shots on the back pockets and a surprising amount of cleavage for an ad meant to be focused on pants. She makes a few striking remarks, the first of which being “I’m not here to tell you to buy American Eagle jeans”. As she continues telling viewers what she isn’t going to say, the camera zooms in on her body. It’s almost as if the message is that it doesn’t matter what Sweeney says, rather it’s her body doing the selling for her. The ironic part about this, though, is that the product is made for women, but the marketing technique is clearly catered for the male audience. Not only does the campaign miss its target, it unsettles audiences with subtle nods to eugenics. Sweeney can be seen making awkward eye contact while zipping her fly saying, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” What on the surface looks like a play on words, many found as subtle white supremacy coming from a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. As most ad campaigns look to diversify their models, American Eagle took a step back in time, playing off conventional beauty standards as a stand in for good products. 

The ‘Short n’ Sweet’ Carpenter follows a similar trend, as her newest tour further separates her from the Disney Channel star audiences once knew. Seen recently wearing bedazzled corsets, knee high stockings, and vintage inspired lingerie, Carpenter’s music mirrors her flashy costumes and mature themes. Her infamous ‘Juno Pose’ tradition sparks controversy on the age appropriateness of her content. Similarly, lyrics included in her newest album Man’s Best Friend leave listeners questioning if she has taken the mature rebranding to an extreme, having effects on the quality of her work. Though the majority of the hits off of her album Short n’ Sweet revolve around her love life, some feel as if the detail in which it is described takes away from the meaning and maturity of her work. Critics argue that her songs can be seen as repetitive and vulgar, lacking real meaning and substance. However, the profits she’s made from recent albums and tours paint a different picture on audience review. The truth is, her new work sells–and at rapid rates, for that matter. Now, listeners are left to answer the question of if Carpenter truly loves the new music she creates, or is simply abusing an already corrupt market to create songs that will generate the most profit. She wouldn’t be the first to take advantage of this market, and who’s to say she's in the wrong for it? It’s not as if she can cling to her Disney days for the rest of her life, and in order for her public image to evolve, there had to be a massive rebranding. The child actress to risque pop star pipeline is all too common, and some may see it as a reclaiming of identity, while others see a complete loss thereof. She leaves her audience to wonder if this new found personality is the true Sabrina Carpenter they know and love. 

Exiting the world of pop stars and A-list actors, Blue hits the headlines for her numerous video stunts such as “1,057 Men in 12 Hours.” The adult content creator quickly became known for her extreme and insensitive comments and posts. Though she has accumulated an estimated net worth of 3 million from her adult content, many argue she has lost something greater than money could ever buy. Her seemingly impossible stunts shattered any image of her outside of adult content, further perpetuating the idea that adult content creators are nothing but a body. Not only does this affect her future, but must have devastating effects on her self worth. What may seem like an isolated issue has, in actuality, greater effects on society as a whole. The existence and normalization of extreme content like Blue’s changes the way society views not only content creators, but women as a whole. 

The price of Bonnie Blue, Sabrina Carpenter, and Sydney Sweeney’s fame costs them more than their image, leaving them to sell their self worth. What some may argue is a genius marketing ploy, in reality results in lackluster products and the loss of real art and talent. The true villain behind these ploys is not a greedy celebrity or PR team, but the audience that continues to consume overly sexualized content at the sake of real human lives and reputations. 

by Delaney Smith

Published October 6, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 122 Issue I