Degrading. Derogatory. Cheap rage bait. Subversive. A setback to feminism.

These are just some of the ways people have described the album cover for Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming release, “Man’s Best Friend,” which she unveiled June 11. With the image featuring her kneeling on the floor as a man standing next to her pulls her hair, resembling a dog held by a leash, it is no surprise that the cover was controversial. 

However, those labeling Carpenter as anti-feminist for this cover are not only misunderstanding its artistic significance, but are also — hypocritically — misusing feminism. In denouncing the photo for being “hypersexual,” these critics endorse the taboo around women expressing themselves sexually and impose arbitrary barriers to women’s success by inflicting unattainable requirements for how women should act.

Criticisms of the picture are both artistically and socially unfounded, especially since Carpenter is known for being sexually expressive in her musical career, often cheekily or humorously.

While touring her 2022 album “emails i can’t send” and opening for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour,” Carpenter sang her highly anticipated “Nonsense” outros with innuendos tailored to each city she performed in. In 2024 she campaigned lacy intimates for SKIMS. More recently, on her “Short n’ Sweet” tour, she has spiced up shows with her “Have you ever tried this one?” moments, hinting at sexual positions during her song “Juno.”

Carpenter has established herself as a woman who embraces her sexuality, both comically and unabashedly. Choosing an album cover with sexual connotations fits well within the artistic journey she’s already created for herself and her fans. Moreover, when considering the title of the album and her past works, it becomes clear that the cover holds a deeper meaning. 

The album’s title, “Man’s Best Friend,” is a term commonly used to refer to dogs. Although some say that Carpenter likening herself to a dog in the cover represents an anti-feminist submission to men, that interpretation misses the point. 

Personally, the album’s name and cover reminded me of a lyric from Phoebe Bridgers’ “Moon Song,” which goes “So I will wait for the next time you want me / Like a dog with a bird at your door.” Carpenter’s dog reference doesn’t seem to be about carnal submission, rather about the experiences women often undergo of feeling dehumanized and restrained in relationships with men, presumably a pattern she encourages us to break free from. 

After all, according to fans and even Carpenter herself, men tend to not survive her “cinematic universe.” In her music videos, she’s watched men wrestle to their deaths in “Feather,” teamed up with actress Jenna Ortega to kill a man in “Taste,” and most recently for “Manchild,” her No. 1 single from the new album, she sings “amen” as a man drives off a cliff. 

In these music videos, her happy ending is consistently brought about by eliminating men from her life, signifying that she isn’t playing into the male gaze, like she’s being accused of, but the exact opposite: She’s encouraging women’s autonomy and independence. 

It is also worth noting that her supposedly “over-sexed” album cover, where she is ironically fully clothed, is significantly less salacious than visuals put out by many men in the music industry. 

From PARTYNEXTDOOR’s 2024 album cover with a nude woman laying facedown on a bed, to Troye Sivan’s 2023 album cover depicting his shoulders straddled by a naked man, to up-and-comer sombr’s music video for his song “undressed” showing people in their underwear running after him, none received the magnitude of backlash Carpenter did. 

The double standard here is both clear and concerning: Men can express themselves and their sexuality however they want, but women must do so only in socially palatable ways. 

“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,” Carpenter told Rolling Stone in her June cover story interview.

She’s right. Practically every successful woman musician has been heavily criticized during her career, including Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish. This March, Chappell Roan received massive hate for her “Call Her Daddy” appearance where she said that she’s unsure about raising children, given how the parents she knows seem unhappy. 

This struggle is bigger than just what women musicians face. All women are obstructed by trying to find the nonexistent Goldilocks zone within society’s expectations: embrace your sexuality too much and you’re a wanton; embrace it too little and you’re a prude; value your independence and you’re cold-hearted; long to be in a relationship and you’re desperate. The list goes on. 

If we really care about detaching from patriarchal ideals, we must stop judging other women based on such unrealistic, misogynistic standards. So, rather than calling Carpenter a feminist anti-Christ for one slightly suggestive photo, we should recognize the deeper meaning of her choice and remember that to truly uplift women, we must first treat one another with empathy.