I'm Buying Sydney Sweeney's Bathwater

On June 6th, Dr. Squatch, a men’s soap company selling soaps with “natural ingredients and manly scents”, released its most controversial and most natural soap to date. It was called “Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss” and its main ingredient was the actress Sydney Sweeney’s used bathwater. The soap quickly sold out, leaving intense public discourse in its wake.

In general, the consensus was that Sydney Sweeney had betrayed women by commodifying her sexuality, and that she had “single-handedly set feminism back 100 years”1. Thus, Sydney was branded with the ineradicable label of not being a “girls’ girl” (the modern way of giving a woman a scarlet letter). After thinking about the implications of Sydney’s actions, I’ve decided that I see nothing wrong with it, and I think it's a shame that so many women have turned their backs on her. 

If She Sexualizes Herself, She Sexualizes Us 

The most prevalent critique of Sydney’s bathwater bliss is the notion that by sexualizing herself, Sydney is perpetuating the societal objectification of women. That young boys and men will internalize the highly sexual imagery she represents and project it onto the women around them. In Pornography: Men Possessing Women, Andrea Dworkin argues that men learn sexual sadism and exploitation from porn. Thus, porn “incarnates male supremacy” by acting as an instruction manual for female subjugation and objectification2. When this theory is applied to the bathwater, it seems as though the imagery of such a highly sexualized product may teach men to view all women as people who want to be viewed sexually, people who want their own bathwater to be sexualized. However, I believe the issue does not lie with Sydney, who is viewed as a participant in the dehumanization of women, but rather it lies in an anti-woman public.

The public was quick to declare Sydney had “set feminism back”, but not to criticize the company that agreed to sell the product, or the large cohort of men who made the bathwater soap sell out in seconds3. Sydney’s bathwater did not cause or inflate objectification; it is merely a result of it. She is a woman who has been objectified for having naturally larger breasts since she was a teenager4. She is a woman who has been in over 50 projects, yet her most famous role is also her most sexual. Furthermore, the idea of selling used bathwater was not popularized by Sydney Sweeney but by the adult actress Belle Delphine, who sold jars of her bathwater in 2019 (bathwater selling itself originated with Japanese cult-leader Shoko Asahara in the 1980s - a story for another time5). 

Belle Delphine’s actions amplified the internet joke of bombarding attractive women with requests to sell their bathwater. This harassment followed Sydney Sweeney, who received constant degrading requests for her bathwater, and eventually decided to gain leverage from the harassment. By giving in to the demand, Sydney was able to profit from a society that had already been sexualizing her for free. As said by Sydney Sweeney herself, “When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it, or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap”6. 

The Illusion of Choice

The concept of Sydney Sweeney taking control of her constant objectification by profiting from her sexual image may still be abhorrent to people. People who believe that the only way for men to treat women better is for women to change. Women need to stop acting in pornography. Women need to stop posting sexual photos. Women need to stop dressing provocatively. They think that once women stop acting inappropriately, men will see women as equals. This is what I view as the illusion of choice. 

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Sydney Sweeney has acted in over 50 projects since she was 12 years old. Yet she didn’t gain fame from her role in feminist projects like the Handmaid’s Tale, or her prominent role in Everything Sucks!. She was bolstered to fame by mimicking an orgasm on a carousel as Cassie in Euphoria. She is a brand ambassador for prestigious brands like Laneige and Armani, yet she garnered the most attention for selling her bathwater bliss with Dr. Squatch. To claim that Sydney Sweeney could be successful without “pandering to men” ignores the reality of her career trajectory. Actresses are operating within a patriarchal society that sexualises women in the media to enforce male dominance. Men are the heroes, the nerds, the boys next door. Women are the objects running naked in horror movies, and sitting shirtless in their bedrooms waiting for a male character to move the plot along. Actresses enter Hollywood with the expectation that they will participate in nude scenes. They are three times more likely than male actors to appear nude in a movie7. For an actress to abstain from sexualization means restricted opportunities for success since most young actresses are catapulted to fame from highly sexual roles like Mikey Maddison in Anora or Mia Goth in X. 

Thus, when cultural figures like Sydney Sweeney and Sabrina Carpenter (and even Bonnie Blue) heighten their sexual image, it is not evidence of their promiscuity but of the way female celebrities must sexualize themselves for success. Of course, these women could still abstain from sexualizing themselves. They could choose to be role models and perform in turtlenecks (like many male artists), but they likely wouldn’t be as popular. And their careers, incomes, and livelihoods are based on being popular. Or, these actresses could be like Milana Vayntrub, who in 2020 appeared fully clothed in a series of AT&T commercials. Despite the banal nature of the commercials, Milana was ceaselessly sexually harassed due to her curvy figure. Men inundated posts featuring Milana with comments calling her breasts “milkers” (pejorative slang for large breasts). AT&T had to disable all comment sections on Milana’s ads to stop the harassment8. Female actresses are either sexual or sexualized. 

I’m Buying Sydney Sweeney’s Bathwater (hypothetically) 

I believe our culture is eager to lambaste women. We easily condemn female celebrities when they get too famous by claiming they’ve become a “diva”, and if they’re too humble, we claim they’re “fake”. The general public would rather scold Sydney Sweeney than question the larger cultural zeitgeist that enables used bathwater to become sold out within seconds. 

I don’t think Sydney Sweeney's sexualization will make objectification of women in society worse, since her fame itself is a product of rampant objectification. I also don’t think Sydney Sweeney has much agency to radically change her image since her career ascendancy is reliant on being objectified, a challenge male actors typically don’t face. I view Sydney Sweeney as an actress navigating a career field where women must participate in their objectification to become successful. And that’s not “disappointing of her”, it’s actually pretty sad.

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1. Ashley Colley, “Listening to Sydney Sweeney single handedly set feminism back 100 years,”June 4, 2025, TikTok Video, 00:10, https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleycolley18/video/7512019947132931335

2. Andrea Dworkin, Pornography: Men Possessing Women (New York: Putnam, 1981)

3. Tara Watson, “The real reason why we’re obsessed with Sydney Sweeney’s boobs,” Mamamia, September 4, 2024, https://www.mamamia.com.au/sydney-sweeney-boobs-obsession/

4. Charlie Nash, “A brief history of selling bath water,” The Spectator World, July 14, 2019, https://thespectator.com/topic/history-selling-bath-water-belle-delphine/

5. Starr Bowenwack & Rebecca Aizin, “Sydney Sweeney Has the Perfect Response to the Backlash Her Bathwater Soap Received Online (Exclusive),” People Magazine, June 5, 2025, https://people.com/sydney-sweeney-reacts-to-backlash-her-bathwater-soap-received-online-exclusive-11748984

6. Gita Jackson, “The ‘AT&T Girl’ Knows You’re Obsessed With Her,” Vice, August 26, 2020, https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-atandt-girl-knows-youre-obsessed-with-her/

7. Megan Diane, “STUDY: Women are 3 Times More Likely to Get Naked in a Hollywood Movie,” Project Casting, September 29, 2021, https://projectcasting.com/blog/news/movies/study-women-3-times-likely-get-naked-hollywood-movie#:~:text=While%20this%20probably%20comes%20as,Hollywood%20movies%20and%20TV%20shows.

8. Mike Gavin, “Soap made with Sydney Sweeney's bathwater sells out in seconds,” NBC New York, June 6, 2025, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/sydney-sweeney-bathwater-soap-sold-out-dr-squatch-website/6291927/