Welcome back! It’s been a big week in culture. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra has a new director. The president went to the Kennedy Center to watch Les Miz. The Tony Awards told all America what to see on Broadway this summer. But all I can think about is pop stars.
Sabrina on the Carpenter
Our office got loud this week after the pop queen Sabrina Carpenter revealed her new, not-so-subtle album cover. It shows Carpenter in a short black dress and sky-high heels, on her hands and knees, her thick blonde tresses gripped by a faceless man in a suit and black dress shoes. It’s like he’s walking her, as if she’s a pet. There was an additional image, in case the first one wasn’t clear enough: a close-up of a dog wearing a collar that reads “Man’s Best Friend,” which is also the title of the new album, out this August.
The internet wasn’t sure what to make of the album cover—Elle “called it “cheeky,” but fans, unsure why Carpenter was at a man’s feet, urged her to “get up,” or else chided the singer for “setting women back 100 years” and “promoting degradation.” Still others claimed she was being “subversive” and “empowering.”
The Free Press newsroom (the younger half, at least) was divided too: Was Sabrina making a point about her own submissive sexuality? Or the perversion of the people looking at her? Or feminism? Were we just shocked because the 26-year-old used to be a child star on the Disney Channel? (Carpenter appeared in a Disney series, made a bunch of made-for-TV movies, and was signed to Disney’s record label.) Or was she just trolling, and we were all falling for it? Was it demeaning to women, and did that matter? Did the fact that it had people talking make it provocative enough to be art? And if so, was it any good?
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Author: Suzy Weiss
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