by Matilda Hawkins ’27

Last July, Sabrina Carpenter dropped her new album Man’s Best Friend promptly after the release of the single “Manchild.” The album cover features the singer herself, depicted on all fours, with what appears to be a man holding onto her hair. Because of the sexual connotations of the pose, social media blew up with a range of responses, including many people believing that the cover was degrading towards women and glorifying the sexualization of women. Fans of Carpenter defended the photo, expressing that it was meant as a satirical commentary on how women are viewed and treated. Some fans countered that, whatever Carpenter’s intentions, it reinforced negative sexual stereotypes.

After the album’s full release, Carpenter eventually spoke out regarding the controversy surrounding the cover. In her eyes, it was not meant to be seen as degrading to women but rather as empowering. She explained that the cover correlates with the songs, which highlight the satirical parts of her music in which she utilizes sexual innuendos to poke at male behavior. “This is something that women experience in such a real way, becoming comfortable with themselves and who they are,” Carpenter said in an interview with Interview editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg.

Musical and cultural commentators have differing opinions regarding whether the album cover should be seen in a negative or positive light, but most align around the same opinion. Although the public had an extremely negative connotation towards it, expressing the harm it showed towards women’s empowerment, many critics saw it as empowering rather than harmful. Leora Taenbaum, who is an author of a female empowerment book, Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up For Yourself in Today’s Toxic, Sexist Culture, noted that “Carpenter’s lyrics are sexually explicit and may not be appropriate for the Disney audience of children she used to cater to, but her sexual frankness is shocking in this day and age only if you believe that women who are open about sexuality are sluts.”

The Man’s Best Friend album cover isn’t far off from what Carpenter usually puts out regarding her music, as recently, the sexual innuendos have become pretty on-brand for her. In her previous album Short and Sweet, several of the songs have either outright sexual lyrics or subtle play on words. Although it can appear to be sexualizing women, Carpenter’s main intent appears to be to normalize the ability to discuss these topics. Not only that, she utilizes her sexual lyrics to almost get back at men who exhibit toxic masculinity.

Carpenter does realize that her music is open for interpretation and not everyone will appreciate it in the way she intends. She understands that although she intends for her music to be seen as uplifting for women, others may interpret it differently. In the interview with Ottenberg, Carpenter shrugged it off about trying to please everyone and quipped, “But I’m glad you like my sexual content.”