Sabrina Carpenter and the rise of “woke slut-shaming”

When pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter revealed the cover for her album Man’s Best Friend this summer, it sparked outrage, but not from conservatives clutching pearls. Backlash came instead from self-proclaimed progressives accusing her of being “anti-feminist.” 

The controversial album cover — Carpenter on her knees while a man grips her hair — was, to some, a satirical nod to the album’s title. But to many critics online, it was a step backward.

On social media, the album cover drew backlash from fans, with one X-user calling the image “degrading.” 

“Sabrina has never been ‘for the girls,’” writes X-user @karamazovluvr. “[She’s] putting on the image of a sexy and vengeful femme fatale, but all in the name of male attention.” 

This criticism seems completely backward. In an effort to push for women to have more bodily autonomy, critics of the album cover are effectively telling a woman what she should and shouldn’t be doing with her body. 

Carpenter explained the concept around the cover in an interview with Apple Music, saying she “wanted a man playing with [her] hair.”

“The whole purpose of the photo was supposed to be cheeky, and airy and playful,” she said. “There was only one shot … with this facial expression that I’m clearly in control, even though I’m on all fours.”

Carpenter is facing something we’ve seen time and time again with female artists; Madonna, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj have faced similar backlash for allegedly sexualizing themselves to sell music. 

It’s nothing new. It’s almost expected that even seemingly non-threatening pop stars are accused of being sluts, acting too sexually and corrupting children. 

The only difference this time is that it’s not conservatives attacking Carpenter, it’s feminists, using the protection of womankind, rather than of children, as an excuse to justify their outrage.

Concerns about objectification are valid, especially right now, but culturally, it seems we’ve forgotten that freedom of choice is a founding principle of feminism. 

We’ve also gotten to a point where people forget how to think critically about opinions shared online and instead get caught in feedback loops. 

How many people really felt strongly about the cover before they checked social media? How many people were personally affronted and morally offended before they heard that was how they should feel? 

It’s not anti-feminist when Carpenter herself selected the image because she looked “in control.”

She’s not setting women back; she’s pushing back. 

With global conservatism on the rise, this cover is almost a refreshing change. It should remind viewers that a core of the feminist movement is supporting women’s autonomy over their bodies. 

If Sabrina Carpenter wants to be on her knees in front of a man, why can’t she be? 

You can have your opinions about her music. You can believe it’s boring, or too derivative or anything else. But to me, the concept of slut-shaming a woman for being fully clothed on an album cover is strange, especially when more explicit imagery rarely sparks the same outrage.

Beyond celebrity drama, the future this backlash represents is grim. 

The mountain of backlash Carpenter faced for a relatively tame image will only deter other women from pushing boundaries. These puritanical online opinions about what is and isn’t okay will undoubtedly have real-world consequences. 

Policing how women present themselves, even under the guise of feminism, keeps us stuck in the same old cycle of shame. The truth is, Carpenter’s cover isn’t setting women back, but the backlash might be.