Sabrina Carpenter has been under an intense amount of scrutiny. From the sexually explicit lyrics in her songs to the title and cover photo of her most recent album “A Man’s Best Friend.” Many have been quick to label her as ani-feminist, and state she is “setting women back.”
Carpenter herself has made many subtle jabs at the people who find her concerts too explicit, or are judging her too harshly for her expression of her sexuality. Many people have claimed Carpenters music has fallen into the “male gaze” criticising Carpenters for her choices. Many have also criticised her for her lewd sexual lyrics, her “Juno” positions, and have slammed her with criticisms left and right.
However if we take a closer look, I’m not so sure that is the correct judgment.
First and foremost, what is the definition of feminism? Feminism is the idea that a range of socio-political movements advocating for the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes, according to google. At the end of the day the goal of feminism is not to exclude women for being comfortable with their sexuality, or for the choices they make within their art. Modern day feminism is about the equal treatment of men and women outside the gender constructs our society has made. This includes trans men and women, women, men and everyone in between of color in any and every ethnicity. Feminism is about everyone.
There is a large misconception that feminism is synonymous with man hating when that is not the case. Many women do express a seemingly satire hatred of men, Carpenter herself includes many creative ways of killing off men in her music videos, while also making creative funny call outs to the bare minimum treatment many men give the women in their lives. Men are socialized on this idea that women are a prize to be won leading them to oftentimes mistreat the women in their lives. Carpenter puts this front and center, making humorous commentary about the less than stellar treatment she and many other women have experienced at the hands of men who have been taught it is acceptable to treat women so poorly.
The cover of Carpenter’s most recent album depicts her on the floor, her hair being grabbed roughly with the title “mans, best friend.” to accompany it. Man’s best friend is a term that has been given to dogs due to their bonds they have with men. A common derogatory phrase for women is the term “B****” another word for a female dog. The title and the cover is a witty twist of the crude name men fall back on when insulting women, often insulting other men by using the term as an insult to their masculinity. This in itself is a statement that, like a majority of Carpenters work, is a statement. The album itself is not for the likes of everyone but by going outside the stereotypical soft feminine idea of sex, Carpenter approaches sex the way a man would, unapologetically, boldly, and confidently.
The witty album cover was quickly labeled as degrading, gaining loads of pushback and ridicule against Carpenter. The cover in its entirety is poking fun at the degrading commentary that men make towards women.
A large source of backlash carpenter gets from the public is the scrutiny of her costumes and sexual lyrics. Throughout her “Short & Sweet” tour, Carpenters Ensembles housed lingerie-esque pieces and sexual dance moves while singing about sex. This sex positive mind set gained a lot of scrutiny and name calling. Carpenter approaches sex in similar fashion to how men have approached it for years, boldly, loudly, shamelessly, the only difference is that Carpenter does this with the grace and femininity of a woman leading the pop world, and she is not a man.
Sabrina Carpenter is what happens when a woman looks at the men of the world and says, why can’t I bulldoze through the world the way they do? So Carpenter did. The album cover even speaks tribute to that in the subtle way of putting herself as a dog, a socially seen “masculine” animal.
The cover of the album depicting carpenter as a dog has blown up with controversy, backlash, anger and one of the large consensus it has made is that it makes people uncomfortable. Yet, I cannot help but wonder if that is part of the point. The treatment of women as dogs, is unfortunately a treatment that some men still have. When the public sees a woman on all fours with her hair being pulled, being treated like an animal, they become outraged, fury overtaking them. Yet many of these people have been treated this way by the men in their lives outside of it, even encouraged. Yet when we see a man mistreat his wife, or girlfriend, we don’t bat an eye. This cover is supposed to make you uncomfortable. Mexican poet and academic Cesar A. Cruz once said, “Art is supposed to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.”
That is exactly what Sabrina Carpenter has invoked here within the notes of her music, the costumes, performances and album covers. She is invoking a reaction that makes you think, it draws attention to the mistreatment of the world and offers a space to be proud of the sexuality we have within us. Carpenter’s art is not for everyone and that is the point. It is not catered to men, it is catered to those who understand the points she is trying to make and the stories she is trying to tell. Unconventional and new, but powerful and revolutionary, Carpenter is making moves and strides with her art.
