{"id":77267,"date":"2025-03-19T11:19:51","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T15:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=77267"},"modified":"2025-08-11T10:13:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:13:03","slug":"sabrina-carpenter-is-not-actually-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/sabrina-carpenter-is-not-actually-the-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabrina Carpenter is Not Actually the Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Singer Sabrina Carpenter is merely the latest to suffer from our societal double-standards around women and sexuality, this op-ed notes. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sabrina Carpenter is, once again, under fire for her in-concert antics. (As if we don\u2019t have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cEspresso\u201d singer, 25, is now famous<\/a> for her brazenly sexual<\/a> performances, lyrics, attire \u2013 it\u2019s her brand, really. During the French leg of her ongoing \u201cShort n\u2019 Sweet Tour,\u201d she further solidified that by recreating a sex act<\/a> referred to as the \u201cEiffel Tower,\u201d involving \u2026 well, let’s just say a three-person formation that evokes the world-famous monument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the act itself was a cheeky Parisian-inspired surprise, the performer has recreated a different lewd act during her song, \u201cJuno,\u201d throughout the tour. None of this should be startling to Carpenter fans. And yet, with each concert clip posted, there is a refreshed cadre of online individuals clutching their metaphorical pearls<\/a> \u2013 labeling her as \u201cweird,\u201d \u201cdisgusting,\u201d \u201coffensive\u201d and even frightening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are layers to people\u2019s problem with Carpenter, specifically. She was a child star, for starters, and people traditionally struggle with the idea that those children grow into adulthood. People also struggle to discern what is appropriate for their own children apparently, as evidenced by parents bringing young kids to a show featuring lyrics such as, \u201cWanna try out my fuzzy pink handcuffs?\u201d and then recoiling in offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she is also singing, dancing and, on occasion, Eiffel-Tower-ing before a society and a world that has never looked kindly upon overtly sexual women. Examples abound in this regard throughout all facets of society \u2013 it\u2019s why we have the term \u201cslut-shaming<\/a>\u201d to point to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stay focused on women in music though, you can look to Madonna<\/a>, who routinely lit pop-culture fires<\/a> with her baldly sexual tunes<\/a>, racy, occasionally-tassled attire<\/a>  \u2013 and one especially explicit coffee table book<\/a>. The pushback she received<\/a> was newsworthy in and of itself. Music videos of hers were banned outright from MTV, then a cultural juggernaut; members of the Catholic Church boycotted her concerts.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n The Makers of Ethical Eroticism Say it’s Hot, Real – and Feminist\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s fellow superstar Janet Jackson<\/a>, who also faced backlash<\/a> for artistically reveling in her sexuality \u2013 especially through her daring 1997 album, \u201cThe Velvet Rope,\u201d which explored various fantasies and kinks. Many critics dismissed it as bizarre and uncomfortable; it was fully banned in Singapore. The poster for the subsequent concert tour \u2013 featuring a scantily-clad Jackson \u2013 was itself a topic of controversy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other pop-music starlets, from Britney Spears to Christina Aguilera to Miley Cyrus, dealt with the sort of pushback Madonna and Jackson did \u2013 the sort of pushback Carpenter is facing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all stems from the fact that we have very clear \u2013 and very restrictive \u2013 ideas about how sexual women can be, especially outside of the bedroom. When they cross these arbitrary, man-made lines, we often say that women are \u201cdegrading” themselves. A term that, by literal definition, means a lowering “in moral or intellectual character\u201d \u2013 or more simply: \u201cinferior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labeling women this way, and asserting that their creations are devoid of merit, character, wit, value \u2026 because they have sex? Because they like it? Because they tap into the thrill and joy of this near-universal experience in the making of their music and the construction of their concert experiences? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, is it perhaps because they\u2019re high-profile women, and we\u2019ve collectively decided that women must carry the responsibility of being role models to children \u2013 while simultaneously deciding that being a sexually empowered woman is somehow antithetical to that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, it doesn\u2019t matter \u2013 it\u2019s an absurd standard. And it\u2019s a sexist double standard<\/a> at that.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Men in music also frequently evoke sex in their work, yet they are not subjected to nearly the same level of scrutiny or hand-wringing. Look no further than the difference between how we as a society reacted to \u201cNipplegate<\/a>,\u201d in which a supposed wardrobe malfunction exposed one of Jackson\u2019s breasts during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show. Fellow popstar Justin Timberlake was the one who pulled away the panel of cloth, yet his career soared after the 2004 incident; Jackson\u2019s career, conversely, was tanked for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Carpenter\u2019s part, her bold sexuality is, indeed, empowering for her. Last fall, she addressed the backlash, particularly from parents who have opinions about her live shows and outfits. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that it\u2019s ever been something to criticize, because truthfully, the scariest thing in the world is getting up on a stage in front of that many people and having to perform as if it\u2019s nothing,\u201d she told Rolling Stone<\/a>. \u201cIf the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for those who simply cannot set aside their anger and discomfort over her sexual presentation, or any other woman\u2019s, she had some simple advice: \u201cDon\u2019t come to the show.\u201d ◼️<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n Are We Seeing More Women-Led Acts at Music Festivals? Sort Of\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The singer’s provocative persona and performances have drawn online ire. But then, we\u2019ve never been fond of overtly sexual women, Candice Helfand-Rogers writes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":78849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Singer Sabrina Carpenter is merely the latest to suffer from our societal double-standards around women and sexuality, this op-ed notes.","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f","date":"2025-03-19T15:19:58+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lkqiaxiafc2v","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:l2n6ydtigm3gtra4vb4rfl7f\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3lkqiaxiafc2v\",\"cid\":\"bafyreiex5z6n5c54oyvzwbvojlyt4z76fp6mqoyj6ks4v3qtey57oij4ge\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreicjal2bc7gudqulkkilwxrzsfksaenbn2gyiif5uuuhyxdyz6o5bm\",\"rev\":\"3lkqiaxil522v\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19648],"tags":[19645,21325,21367,19672],"class_list":["post-77267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-opinion","tag-sexual-empowerment","tag-societal-double-standards","tag-women-in-music"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn Op-Ed on Sabrina Carpenter, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Sex<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The singer's provocative persona has drawn ire. 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