Written By Alex

Sabrina Carpenter recently announced her newest album, “Man’s Best Friend,” and the cover art didn’t just make the internet spiral; it sent it into a full-blown identity crisis. The cover features Sabrina on all fours with her platinum blonde hair being pulled by an unknown man. Half the comments relay positive thoughts, while the other half clutched their pearls like they were in a Jane Austen novel and Sabrina just showed her ankles. But let’s get one thing straight: Sabrina Carpenter is not setting feminism back; she’s giving it a sparkly, satirical middle finger and asking if we’d like a matching leash for our internalized misogyny. Instead of being an outlet for support on outdated tropes, the cover is a calculated head-to-head of the very gendered expectations it supposedly plays into.

Let’s start with the fact that Sabrina is fully in control of her public image. Executives are not manipulating a Nickelodeon ingénue. This is an artist who has methodically evolved from that actor on Girl Meets World to a pop sensation who is comfortable and confident with expressing herself and her satirical humor. We are literally talking about the person who wrote “Espresso,” a song that roasts clingy men while she eats shrimp cocktail by the pool. 

The Man’s Best Friend cover? That’s not “problematic.” It’s not just sexual; it’s stylized, theatrical, and topped with a big spoonful of exaggeration. It echoes the provocative visual history of women in music who’ve used the shock factor to challenge power: Madonna dancing in lingerie at the 1984 VMAs, Cardi B performing “WAP” on national television in a giant bed, and even Billie Eilish shedding her baggy clothes for a revealing corset moment in British Vogue. These aren’t to be viewed as acts of submission, but rather as declarations of ownership. Sabrina isn’t playing into the patriarchy; she’s making it her personal accessory: ironic, intentional, and 100% on her standards.

We should also consider the blunt double standard at work. It’s insane how the second a woman mixes satire with anything sexual, the internet turns into your great-grandfather at Sunday dinners. “This is dangerous for the children!” Okay, Greg, calm down. Sabrina Carpenter does suggestive poses while performing Juno, and people act like society’s collapsing. Meanwhile, The Weeknd sings about how doing cocaine off someone’s clavicle turns him on and wins a Grammy. When men do it, it’s “art.” When women do it, it’s “concerning” and a “setback.”

In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Sabrina addressed the backlash against her sexually suggestive performances, particularly those during her Short n’ Sweet tour. She highlighted the irony that the same audience criticizing her is also propelling these songs to popularity. She emphasized that her shows offer a diverse range of content beyond the NSFW elements, including emotional ballads about heartbreak and introspective thoughts, which often receive less attention.

Most against it argue that the imagery could negatively influence young girls, but this idea is seriously undermining the youth’s ability to formulate opinions instead of being passive sponges. Today’s teens scroll through TikTok analyzing the outfits from the Met Gala like they’re ancient scripture and dissecting Disney Channel love triangles like they’re prepping for a calculus final. To suggest they can’t handle Sabrina Carpenter’s album art is to seriously underestimate their critical thinking and intelligence.

Art should challenge our comfort zones. Good pop doesn’t just entertain; it provokes. Sabrina Carpenter isn’t dragging us backward; she’s forcing us to confront how easily we confuse discomfort with danger. If that makes people nervous, maybe it’s because she’s proving you can challenge the system and look hot doing it.