Sabrina Carpenter has unveiled an alternative cover for her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend after imagery sparked a global uproar.
In the post announcing the updated cover, the Manchild singer allayed public concern with her initial cover art by offering up a token of reassurance in the way of divine blessing.
For how could anyone possibly find issue with Sabrina Carpenter and the album artwork for Man’s Best Friend if it was indeed sanctified in such a way?
“I signed some copies of Man’s Best Friend for you guys & here is a new alternate cover approved by God available on my website,” she wrote in the caption revealing the update.
But what off the prior (satanic?) version that Carpenter released on June 12? You know, the one that sparked a million op-eds on everything from female disempowerment to hypersexualisation?
“Sabrina, women are losing their rights…” one fan wrote on the first cover reveal post, with another adding: “This imagery is despicable and sending women back decades. You are supporting female subjugation and abuse.”
The flip side of the discourse coin argued that Sabrina’s satirical intention was lost on the internet in an era where nuance and irony is so often clouded by outrage.
“The way people can’t comprehend that an album called ‘Man’s Best Friend’ with cover art of a man treating a woman like a dog (b*tch), and a lead song titled ‘Manchild’ is clearly ironic/criticizing those things, media literacy is dead, sabrina I’m sorry people are dumb af,” user @kathaniisharma wrote on X.
Others defended the cover featuring Carpenter on all-fours with an unseen man (or is it?) holding a fistful of her hair, calling for people to refrain from categorising every sexy pose or suggestive aesthetic as a cog in the “catering to the male gaze” wheel. Many argued, if anything, such reductive language only works to reinforce the ideals of feminism-as-modesty, denying a woman’s right to use her body as a tool of empowerment however she wish to wield it.
“Maybe this is a bad take, but I fear we have “stop doing things for the male gaze”d ourselves back into expecting women to be modest and shaming them otherwise, and it’s strange,” posited @savinggrace0 on X.
Whatever Sabrina Carpenter camp you fall into, there’s no denying she has everyone talking and streaming Manchild enough to make it her first debut #1 in the US and UK – ever. So whether you’re here for the satire, or the questioning the ‘why’ of it all, we’ll leave Carpenter’s recent comments to Rolling Stone here to mull over.
“I don’t want to be pessimistic, but I truly feel like I’ve never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinized in every capacity. I’m not just talking about me. I’m talking about every female artist that is making art right now.”
Related articles:
- Why Does Sabrina Carpenter’s New Album Make You So Uncomfortable?
- Wait, Who Is Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Manchild’ About?
- The Toxic Truth To Our Treatment Of Female Celebrities
