Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover has sparked uproar. Here's what you need to know

The Age

2 days ago

Sabrina Carpenter has revealed the date her new album will be released and unveiled the cover art – and fans have had some very mixed reactions.
The image for the 26-year-old's seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend, due out on August 29, depicts Carpenter on her knees in a mini dress and high heels, with her hair being held by an anonymised man in a suit.
Carpenter delivered the update on the followup to last year's chart topping Short n' Sweet via Instagram on Thursday morning AEST, sparking an online debate over whether the image is ironic or misogynistic. Comments on Carpenter's post ran the gamut from disgust — 'I don't wanna see no man dragging you around by your hair mother, please get up' — to adulation — 'MOTHER FEEDING HER CHILDREN'.
The cover represents a departure from the imagery of Carpenter's previous six studio albums, which featured the artist alone, often in subdued poses. However, the singer has increasingly played into an ultra-feminised persona that smacks of irony and an understanding of the way female artists are depicted in popular culture.
Dr Emma Phillips, an assistant professor at the University of Canberra who wrote her PhD on the aesthetics of sexualisation, said that the largely negative response to the image was a response to 'an immense shift in our post-feminist times', in which women are increasingly taking ownership of old-school misogynistic imagery that traditionally objectified them.
'[Women are told to] perform their feminity in a so called 'appropriate way', and appropriate is not being in charge of their sexuality, or revealing too much flesh, or being an active agent in their own sexual selves. Here we see Carpenter being an active agent in her sexual life, and immediately she's derided for that,' said Phillips.
'There's a deep irony or satire going on, and there's no question that Carpenter is engaging in that … we should engage with who she is, with the lyrics on the album, and some of her history, rather than just take a surface reading of things, which unfortunately, is what most people will do.'
Manchild, the lead single from the upcoming album speaks to Carpenter's dominance over male companions, featuring lyrics like 'never heard of self-care, half your brain just ain't there', and 'I like my men all incompetent'. It fits neatly into earlier offerings like chart toppers Espresso, Taste, and Bed Chem, all of which proudly celebrate Carpenter's sexuality and power over men.