The Right’s Crusade to “Make America Hot Again”
Summary
New Yorker staff writer Jennifer Wilson discusses her piece on the right’s new embrace of sex appeal, featuring a visit to Stagecoach and Sydney Sweeney’s Siren pop-up. She explores how conservative brands like Evie magazine and Victoria’s Secret are rebranding sexuality as a post-MeToo backlash, contrasting this with the left’s earlier focus on inclusivity. Wilson also examines the labor politics of lingerie manufacturing in Italy and argues that the right’s current "sexy" aesthetic is a nostalgic, uniform reaction to perceived cultural overreach.
Topics discussed
Sponsorships and introduction to the episode
Introduction of Jen and the New Yorker piece on lingerie
Sydney Sweeney and the political coding of breasts
Reporting from Stagecoach and Siren lingerie brand
Conservative history of modesty and Shania Twain
Sydney Sweeney's political ambiguity and MAGA support
Victoria's Secret pivot and the VS Collective
Investor shifts and the shared vocabulary of sex
The male gaze and redefining lingerie post-MeToo
Break and transition to conservative purity culture
Abstinence-only education and current funding changes
The 'Evie' magazine and Christian wife lingerie brands
Limits of reevaluating purity culture and sex toys
Historical politics of underwear and the Ladette movement
Content analysis of Evie magazine and its articles
Break and transition to the future of sexy
Did the left create a vacuum for the right to fill?
Corporate capture of movements and Agent Provocateur
Victoria's Secret scandals and La Perla's labor issues
Ethical consumption and labor history in lingerie
Will the right have a monopoly on sexy?
Racialized beauty standards and closing remarks
Credits and final sponsorships
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