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The Guardian
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Let women be horny – but Sabrina Carpenter's album cover isn't helping
Please join me for a quick game of 'is this sex-positive feminism or just a lazy repackaging of the patriarchy'? Today's protagonist is Sabrina Carpenter, a pop star whose music videos have got a Brooklyn priest demoted and might have played a small role in getting the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, indicted. On Wednesday, Carpenter revealed the cover art for her forthcoming album Man's Best Friend in a social media post, which featured two photos side by side. One was a closeup of what appears to be a fluffy dog with a collar bearing the words 'man's best friend'. The other is a photo of Carpenter on her hands and knees in front of a man who is pulling her by the hair. The imagery has caused controversy and drawn mixed reactions. On the one hand, you've got people who think Carpenter is being clever. On the other hand, you've got people who think she is being crass and catering to the male gaze in a way that is extremely unhelpful to women. In the latter camp is Glasgow Women's Aid, a Scottish group that helps victims of domestic violence. They have called the imagery 'regressive' and 'a throwback to tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control'. Some people on social media vehemently disagree. 'i am a little concerned about peoples inability to immediately clock that the cover is obviously a commentary on the way women are treated, especially with the context of manchild [the lead single from the album] and the album being called man's best friend like guys omfg think,' someone in the 'Sabrina's doing satire!' camp posted. That got over 53,000 likes. (I, myself, am a little concerned about people's inability to use apostrophes.) Meanwhile, Diet Prada (an influential Instagram account with more than 3.4 million followers) posted a picture of the video with the line 'let women be h*rny on main' and a caption that essentially called Carpenter's critics stupid prudes. I'm all for letting 'women be h*rny on main' but I'm having a hard time seeing Carpenter's cover art as either satire or sex-positive feminism. Sure, some of the best satire is extremely subtle. But this isn't subtle or sex-positive – it's just soft porn pandering to the male gaze. At a different point in time I suppose you might be able to make the case that this sort of imagery was edgy and subversive. Madonna, for example, used her sexuality to challenge social norms. But at the current moment, when sexualized imagery is everywhere, women's rights are being aggressively rolled back in the US, and there is backlash to women's rights around the world, Carpenter's cover art isn't subverting anything. The hair-grabbing visual is in particularly poor taste considering recent court testimony that Sean 'Diddy' Combs grabbed his then girlfriend Cassie Ventura by the hair and dragged her into another room where he assaulted her. There is also very disturbing video surveillance of Combs assaulting Ventura. If Carpenter's fans can't see all the problems with this imagery, then it's because internalized misogyny is everywhere – and it's a real bitch. (Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.) None of this, to be clear, is an attack on Carpenter. In my best middle-aged woman voice I'd like to say that I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed. I think Carpenter is very talented and particularly appreciate her track record on taking down awful men. Please, Sabrina, you've helped take down one mayor. Why not train your creative energy on trying to stop Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor of New York, who has spent millions of dollars in taxpayer money on an aggressive legal battle against the women who have accused him of sexual harassment, from becoming mayor of New York? Forget man's best friend, pull that off and you'll be a lot of women's best friend. The activist, who was recently deported from Israel after taking part in an attempt to bring a symbolic aid shipment to starving Gaza, responded by saying the world needs more angry women. It certainly does. Olorato Mongale, 30, was allegedly murdered by a man she went on a date with – it's one of the more high-profile murders in a country with the highest rates of femicide in the world. 'Women die no matter what they do,' one activist told the Guardian. 'They've been stabbed while they sleep, shot in broad daylight and had their houses burned down by former partners.' According to CNN Brasil, the influencer Taís Bruna de Castro, 36, was murdered in the food court of a shopping complex where she worked; the suspect is a janitor who worked in the same complex. The janitor reportedly told investigators that he killed the influencer because she didn't want to pursue a relationship with him. Four women and three girls (two of whom were believed to be under five) recently died after a boat carrying migrants capsized just metres from a pier in the port of one of Spain's Canary Islands. An increasing number of women are now trying to migrate from west Africa. 'Women are becoming the main actors in their own migration process, whereas in the past it was usually the men who migrated first and the women joined later,' one expert told the Guardian. Sign up to The Week in Patriarchy Get Arwa Mahdawi's weekly recap of the most important stories on feminism and sexism and those fighting for equality after newsletter promotion Gyutsova is a Bulgarian influencer who, per DW, doles out misogynistic advice to men and incites violence against women. 'On her social media channels, she not only encourages people to degrade women and use violence against them, she also boasts that she uses the same methods on her child and her cat,' one commentator told DW. I guess Gyutsova has discovered that misogyny can be a lucrative grift. All the vol-gay-noe jokes you could want for Pride month. A little palate cleanser for everyone who feels like exploding with rage at the moment. Women's Health profiles Jan Todd, who broke the world record in the women's deadlift when she was 22 and went on to a career in academia. 'Her research discoveries are the reason we now know about the all-but-forgotten history of heavy resistance training among Victorian girls and women on both sides of the Atlantic,' the outlet notes. Turns out Victorian women were swole. This is the sort of thing that shouldn't be news story in 2025 but unfortunately is. Good on Labour MP Luke Charters, however, for being part of a small group of politicians agitating for better paternity leave for fathers and leading by example. 'As nine in 10 households [in Gaza] face extreme water shortages, the lack of clean water, soap, and privacy has turned menstruation into a source of anxiety, isolation, and shame,' UN agencies have said. If you're British and angry about this, there's a handy tool here to check if your MP supports war crimes against Palestinians. Do not allow your female lawmakers to posture as feminists if they support genocide. Would you like to see a baby camel called Faye say 'hey?' A lot of people do! A TikTok of Faye posted by her owner, a south-east Missouri camel farmer called Flaire Ferrell, has got millions of views. Ferrell has said he's using the viral moment to try to change misconceptions about camels being mean-spirited and prone to spitting. If you raise a camel right not only will they be polite, they'll never desert you. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
Extra.ie
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Sabrina Carpenter hits back at criticism of new cover art
Sabrina Carpenter has responded to criticism claiming the cover art of Man's Best Friend would be 'reducing women to pets'. Carpenter announced the release of her seventh studio record on June 11 via Instagram: 'My new album, 'Mans Best Friend' is out on August 29, 2025.' The cover shows the singer on her knees, dressed in black, with her hair being pulled by an unidentified man. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sabrina Carpenter (@sabrinacarpenter) Glasgow Womens Aid, a charity that supports women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, criticised her choice of imagery on the record cover. In a Facebook post (June 12), the organisation said the following: 'Sabrina Carpenters new album cover isnt edgy, its regressive. Picturing herself on all fours, with a man pulling her hair and calling it Mans Best Friend isnt subversion. Its a throwback to tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control.' In a recent interview with Rolling Stone , Carpenter shared her thoughts on the backlash Man's Best Friend received, saying the criticism is unjustified. 'I don't want to be pessimistic, but I truly feel like Ive never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinised in every capacity. Im not just talking about me. Im talking about every female artist that is making art right now,' said Carpenter. 'I'm living in the glory of no one hearing it or knowing about it, and so I can not care,' she added. 'I can not give a fuck about it, because I'm just so excited.' The singer released the lead single of her new record, 'Manchild' on June 5, with Man's Best Friend coming out August 29.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Sabrina Carpenter is accused of 'reducing women to pets' by domestic violence charity as she poses on all fours with faceless man pulling her hair on new album cover
Sabrina Carpenter has been accused of 'reducing women to pets' by a leading domestic violence charity as the row over her new controversial new album cover deepens. The popstar, 26, announced the 12-song record titled 'Man's Best Friend' on Wednesday accompanied with a picture of a faceless man pulling her hair as she posed on all fours. While the announcement of new music was met with much fanfare, many have criticised the singer for over-sexualising herself and encouraging the return of 'tired stereotypical tropes' around women. Glasgow Women's Aid, who were established during the second wave of the women's liberation movement, were one of the leading organisations who delivered a scathing verdict on Ms Carpenter's new album cover yesterday. They said: 'Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover isn't edgy, it's regressive. 'Picturing herself on all fours, with a man pulling her hair and calling it 'Man's Best Friend' isn't subversion. 'It's a throwback to tired tropes that reduce women to pets, props, and possessions and promote an element of violence and control. We've fought too hard for this. 'We get Sabrina's brand is packaged up retro glam but we really don't need to go back to the tired stereotypes of women. 'Sabrina is pandering to the male gaze and promoting misogynistic stereotypes, which is ironic given the majority of her fans are young women! 'Come on Sabrina! You can do better!' The 26-year-old herself addressed these criticisms in an interview with American music magazine Rolling Stone this week, where she features on this month's front cover wearing almost no clothes. She said: 'It's always so funny to me when people complain. They're like, "All she does is sing about this". 'But those are the songs that you've made popular. Clearly you love sex. You're obsessed with it.' The album will feature her latest hit song 'Manchild' in a song widely believed to be aimed at her ex-boyfriend, Barry Keoghan. The single was also accompanied by a music video, during which Ms Carpenter is seen bathing with two piglets she labels as men. The criticisms also come just months after Brit Awards viewers were left outraged at her performance that saw her get down on her knees in front of a 'King's Guard'. Parents of young children watched on in disbelief as the scantily dressed Espresso singer, 25, opened the awards at The O2 in London last night with a steamy set. The criticisms also come just months after Brit Awards viewers were left outraged at her performance that saw her get down on her knees in front of a 'King's Guard' They vowed to immediately contact ITV and Ofcom after Carpenter - dressed in a skimpy red lingerie outfit - crouched down in front of a dancer dressed in a King's Guard uniform. The camera then panned to the 'guard' who looked towards the lens and winked. She had opened the awards ceremony wearing a red sparkly military-style blazer dress in homage to Britain. Surrounded by dancers dressed in King's Guards uniform, she strutted down a red carpet lit up with the Union Flag. Carpenter then changed into a red lingerie outfit to perform song 'Bed Chem' on a large bed where she spread her legs apart.
Fast Company
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover divides the internet: ‘Man's Best Friend' discourse explained
Less than a year after she came out with her Grammy-winning album 'Short n' Sweet,' pop singer Sabrina Carpenter announced the release date of her next project, titled 'Man's Best Friend,' with a new album cover on Wednesday, and it has ignited a headline-grabbing debate. While some fans of the singer are salivating over the mere mention of another ' Sabrina Summer,' others are none too happy with the album cover's messaging. The cover depicts Carpenter in heels and a black minidress, crouching on the floor. An anonymous man holds a handful of her iconic blonde hair. Fans and critics immediately took to social media to voice their support or concerns with the image's messaging, and though many fans staunchly defend Carpenter and the album cover as 'satirical,' 'exaggerated,' and 'ironic,' others, including the domestic violence advocacy group Glasgow Women's Aid, say that the image of a Carpenter kneeling on the ground being dragged by her hair is triggering, regressive, and frankly, distasteful. Pushing boundaries or tired tropes? Discourse about the album's imagery calls to mind a long history of public criticism directed toward women artists. Many women who have challenged boundaries around what was acceptable in music and other artistic disciplines have found themselves on the receiving end of cultural blowback, but this conversation reads differently. The prevalence of social media means that the album cover went viral overnight, as people saw and posted about the new cover, and some critics worry about the impact of the message on young fans. (Carpenter is a former Disney Channel star.) Fans also have the ability insult each other's intelligence overtly via Instagram and TikTok, calling those who don't get it 'dumb' and 'dense.' Comments on the original Instagram post lean both directions, with some expressing their excitement and others telling Carpenter that the cover 'is not the slay you think it is.' One user explained that even if the cover is an ironic joke, it's not an effective one. 'If the fans who know all of her lore are the only ones who can interpret her attempt, that isn't satire,' the user wrote. '[It's] an inside joke that reads misogynistic to everyone else which makes it really harmful.' Still, Carpenter is known for the wry messaging in her music, prompting some TikTok users to call out others whom they claimed just didn't get it. 'The people criticizing Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover for 'Man's Best Friend' are so obtuse,' said one TikToker in a video. 'None of you have ever used context clues in your life and it shows.' However, others accuse Carpenter of not paying attention to context. A common refrain is that Carpenter is acting oblivious to America's current political climate and the deep misogyny that runs through it.
