Sabrina Carpenter is, once again, under fire for her in-concert antics. (As if we don’t have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with.)
The “Espresso” singer, 25, is now famous for her brazenly sexual performances, lyrics, attire – it’s her brand, really. During the French leg of her ongoing “Short n’ Sweet Tour,” she further solidified that by recreating a sex act referred to as the “Eiffel Tower,” involving … well, let’s just say a three-person formation that evokes the world-famous monument.
Though the act itself was a cheeky Parisian-inspired surprise, the performer has recreated a different lewd act during her song, “Juno,” 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 – labeling her as “weird,” “disgusting,” “offensive” and even frightening.
There are layers to people’s 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, “Wanna try out my fuzzy pink handcuffs?” and then recoiling in offense.
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 – it’s why we have the term “slut-shaming” to point to.
To stay focused on women in music though, you can look to Madonna, who routinely lit pop-culture fires with her baldly sexual tunes, racy, occasionally-tassled attire – and one especially explicit coffee table book. The pushback she received 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.
Then there’s fellow superstar Janet Jackson, who also faced backlash for artistically reveling in her sexuality – especially through her daring 1997 album, “The Velvet Rope,” 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 – featuring a scantily-clad Jackson – was itself a topic of controversy.
Other pop-music starlets, from Britney Spears to Christina Aguilera to Miley Cyrus, dealt with the sort of pushback Madonna and Jackson did – the sort of pushback Carpenter is facing now.
It all stems from the fact that we have very clear – and very restrictive – 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 “degrading” themselves. A term that, by literal definition, means a lowering “in moral or intellectual character” – or more simply: “inferior.”
Labeling women this way, and asserting that their creations are devoid of merit, character, wit, value … 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?
Or, is it perhaps because they’re high-profile women, and we’ve collectively decided that women must carry the responsibility of being role models to children – while simultaneously deciding that being a sexually empowered woman is somehow antithetical to that?
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter – it’s an absurd standard. And it’s a sexist double standard at that.
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 “Nipplegate,” in which a supposed wardrobe malfunction exposed one of Jackson’s 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’s career, conversely, was tanked for years.
For Carpenter’s 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. “It’s unfortunate that it’s 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’s nothing,” she told Rolling Stone. “If the one thing that helps you do that is the way you feel comfortable dressing, then that’s what you’ve got to do.”
And for those who simply cannot set aside their anger and discomfort over her sexual presentation, or any other woman’s, she had some simple advice: “Don’t come to the show.” ◼️
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