Feminism Win! Woman Forced to Change
Sabrina Carpenter dropped a second album cover just a week after the original sparked a flood of discourse so noisy, nuanced, and well-cited, it nearly imploded the concept of feminism.
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Well, she heard your passionate and pedantic complaints. On Wednesday, Sabrina Carpenter gave us a new cover for her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend, assuring everyone that this version has been God-approved. The second cover comes a week after the original album artwork caused a flood of discourse so noisy, nuanced, and well-cited, it nearly imploded the very concept of feminism.
Empowering or objectifying? The first cover had Carpenter kneeling before a suited man—a not-so-subtle nod to the double entendre of Man’s Best Friend—as he tugged her hair. Some saw it as playful subversion; others slammed it as a performance for the male gaze. Feminist discourse spanned the spectrum: Is it satire? Is it submission? Is it not that deep?
Of course, everyone went to TikTok for the answer. (This is why we can’t have nice things.) Responses ranged in their knowledge of academia, some citing Simone de Beauvoir and the like, linking the image to broader cultural shifts from the rise of right-wing masculinity and tradwifery to the surge in cosmetic surgery among young women. Others argued the power of controlling your sexuality. And then even more others argued with that theory, stating that no one is truly in control of their sexuality within a patriarchy. “But that’s the point!” fans cried. “She’s in on the joke!”
After trying to understand all the POVs, I had a headache.