Sabrina Carpenter’s new album cover is NOT risqué

By: Amelia Chapman  

Sabrina Carpenter, the world-famous actor, songwriter, and performer, has gained thousands of negative comments in the last two months, following her self-release of the cover of her upcoming album “Man’s Best Friend”. The artist released the cover on the 12th of June this year, and was met with severe backlash, with fans claiming she is “setting women back”. The cover (as pictured above) features Sabrina on her hands and knees, with her blonde hair held in a fist by a suited man, as she smiles. Pictured below, is a snapshot of Instagram comments she received.

It is known, Sabrina grew up in the Disney spotlight, first gaining popularity in the show “Girl Meets World”. Though, Sabrina has been working for years to create her image and brand as a singer. So, if Sabrina is an adult (which she is – 26 years old to be exact), who writes and performs songs with adult content, why is the album cover shocking?

Sabrina has been known to use varying sexual innuendos in her songs: Taste (“you’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissing you”), Busy Woman (“my openings are super tight…”), and Juno (a song about getting pregnant, referencing the 2007 movie). She even performs “Juno positions” at her concerts, in which she runs to the front of the stage and demonstrates a sexual position, while singing the line “Have you ever tried this one?”.

Further, the internet’s reaction seems obsessive, as Sabrina is only one of a long list of popular female artists who have written and performed songs recently about their sexuality/sexual experiences. Including Billie Eilish, with her song Lunch (“I could eat that girl for lunch, yeah she dances on my tongue” and Charli XCX with her song Guess (“You wanna guess the colour of my underwear…”). The following women have done the same: Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Chappell Roan, Rhianna, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Tate McCrae, Katy Perry, and the list goes on… So why is Sabrina’s expression seen as wild?

With the rise of conservatism, and a silencing of women and their right to choose, especially in America, it is important that women are allowed to express themselves in the way they choose – whether that be ‘traditionally’ or what some people class as “unconventionally”. Without women feeling free to express themselves through their art, we are at risk of losing important representations of choice and empowerment. The world is so quick to judge women for their expression of their sexuality, but never hold the same standard of ridicule for men who do the same. A recent study (2023) found that a third of male solo songs would be classified as not only sexual, but sexist, and still, no one seems to be unpacking those, or writing thousands of negative comments… funny.