Editors note: This opinion-piece does not represent the opinion of Beaver’s Digest but rather it reflects the personal opinions and observations of the writer
She’s on all fours, her hair pulled. But, it’s Sabrina Carpenter. That begs the question then, is her latest album cover a feminist rebellion or a return to objectification?
Sabrina Carpenter’s most recent album, “Man’s Best Friend”, has brought up a lot of online controversy regarding Carpenter promoting misogynistic stereotypes. Others argue that the album cover is a satire, claiming that it’s “not that deep.”
So, this brings up a question: Is Carpenter’s image feminist empowerment, or just a way to appeal to the public?
There are many young women at Oregon State University that have opinions about autonomy, sexuality, and perception.
Tara Suresh, a student at OSU studying biology and computer science, goes on to explain the subjectivity behind Carpenter’s album cover.
“Its also in the eye of the beholder. So like, what I think is too much is not what other people think is too much,” said Suresh.
While it’s true that opinions and beliefs vary, Suresh compared the cultural differences between Taylor Swift in her early years and Sabrina Carpenter.
Swift, during her early years, navigated her image as “poised” and “elegant”, more so honing in on the innocence factor. Whereas Carpenter chose to express her image as “bold” and “sexual”, showing the stylistic differences in how female artists choose to present themselves in society.
When it comes down to it, there will always be an invisible line between what society sees as “empowerment” and what is labeled as “too much.”
It’s ironic because women are supposed to be one another’s biggest supporters, rejecting misogynistic ideals, but sometimes women are each other’s worst critics. Reactions to women’s sexuality, most, if not all of the time, stems from a deep rooted jealousy or insecurity.
“A lot of times, especially in the millennial generation and like men, it’s almost like jealousy and they’re like ‘why is she showing off on stage, like my husband’s watching’,” said Suresh.
This goes back to the long standing idea that a man’s reaction to what a woman does is her fault, not the man’s fault for behaving that way. The idea then turns into women turning on one another because they are insecure. This insecurity stems from how the man is behaving.
That’s where the true contradiction lies, women are told to support one another and embrace feminism, but often judge when another woman starts to embrace her sexuality.
It starts to raise a bigger question: why is it still a large issue in society when women show off their sexuality, instead of being respected and owning who she is.
Another student, Elsa Dean, a marketing major here at OSU, dove into how artists are held to a higher standard because their lives are on display for the world to see. Whether they like it or not, they are being judged and criticized, so it’s hard to navigate wanting to display your sexuality in a way that does not offend or bother the audience you have.
“But it’s important that [Carpenter’s] being careful because she has such a huge fan base, so yeah, I do think it’s for her to decide what she wants to put out and how she wants to be perceived because she has a lot of control, I feel like, over that,” said Dean.
Social media plays a large role in how Carpenter, and other artists, have expressed their sexuality. It is seen that Carpenter’s brand image thrives under the social media spotlight, showing that these platforms can make or break a female artist— empowering her visibility while also exposing her to intense public scrutiny.
“I think without social media, we wouldn’t be in a place where women can express themselves as freely. But I think now we’re getting to a point where it’s kind of turning around on itself and it opens everybody up to a lot more judgement,” said Dean.
Carpenter’s new album uncovers a lot more about the deep rooted issues society has about women’s freedoms, rather than about the actual album itself.
Maybe being considered “too much” by society is what ends up happening when a woman stops asking for permission to be enough.
