In a new column for Guardian US, Moira Donegan argues that the American right has abandoned its long-held politics of sexual prohibition in favor of a culture that celebrates raunch, vulgarity, and male domination. The piece points to a recent sports betting advertisement featuring actress Sydney Sweeney as a key example of this shift.
The ad, displayed in Times Square on September 16, 2026, shows an undressed Sweeney clutching footballs to her chest. According to the column, the advertisement has sparked controversy, with female athletes voicing displeasure, stating that the actress encouraged the objectification of female bodies and minimized women's contributions to sports.
From Prohibition to Pornification
Donegan contrasts this with the Reagan-era rise of figures like Pat Buchanan and Phyllis Schlafly, and the Christian faith displays of the George W. Bush administration. For decades, the right was married to a politics of sexual prohibition, emphasizing sexual self-discipline and decency, with policies like abortion bans, opposition to gay rights, and abstinence-only sex education.
The column argues that these morals evaporated after Donald Trump's "grab 'em by the pussy" remarks. Now, an ostentatious lasciviousness reigns in the Republican party, where raunch is the coin of the realm and porn is the lingua franca. Donegan writes, "The preachers have retreated, and the perverts have taken over."
Same Project, Different Style
Donegan contends that this transformation is stylistic, not a policy change. Republican politicians still vote to make casual, premarital, non-procreative sex as dangerous, expensive, and risky as possible for women. She concludes that sexual prohibition and sexual force are two styles of the same project: using sex to subordinate women.
The column also references other examples, including FBI hiring practices under Kash Patel, a talk show guest discussing wives providing sex on demand, and the Tate brothers' reported friendliness with Trump's circle. Donegan ends by stating, "At least now we can stop pretending that they're not the same thing."
