Sabrina Carpenter, a singer since 2014, released a new album on August 29, 2025, Man’s Best Friend. To much fanfare, she has sold 366,000 album units, making it her second album to be number one on the Billboard 200 according to Caulfield, K. on the website Billboard in the article Sabrina Carpenter’s “man’s best friend” debuts at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. However, this album has received controversy over the cover, in which she is on her knees while a man holds her hair as if she were a dog.
Women receive criticism just for being women, similarly to Taylor Swift, who was criticized for singing only about men. Carpenter is having a similar experience, but instead, she is being criticized for singing only about sex. Carpenter is not setting women back; it is instead society itself that is setting women back.
To set women back is to reverse progress towards gender equality, which can result in the loss of rights. This could potentially undermine women’s leadership and enforce traditional gender roles.
Junior Nick Hawkins at Northwest High School may not be speaking out widely against sexism, but he is someone who believes that women have the right to choose who they want to be.
“I don’t think what she was doing was trying to set women back. I think it was more her expressing how she is,” said Hawkins.
Carpenter is a woman who likes to express her sexuality as well as her unique humor, as seen in the song Busy Woman, which makes a satirical reference to men, stating that if a man does not want her love, then she does not want them anyway. This shows Carpenter’s unique humor and how she likes to use satire. It is seen in Man’s Best Friend that none of the songs praise men and promote traditional gender roles, hence not setting women back.
Carpenter’s cover has been said to promote traditional roles, and while that is questionable, a more important issue to be worried about is how men set women back.
Men have created music that could set women back much more than Carpenter’s album cover and music. Artists like J Balvin, Kanye West, Elvis Presley, and Eminem have all depicted sexist lyrics that have been ignored. With lyrics that compare women to dogs, saying a woman is famous because of him, referring to women as their property, and writing violent threats to women while excusing it as being his alter ego. These songs set women back, not a woman choosing how people see her.
One woman choosing how she wants to portray herself and what she wants to do with her life does not take away rights, nor does it mean that all women act the same way. A woman choosing to be who she wants to be sets women forward. This shows women that they are allowed to express themselves in whatever way they desire, whether sexual or not. It shows women that men are not the only ones allowed to express themselves however they want.
Alternate album cover of Man’s Best Friend. Once again, only Sabrina Carpenter’s face is fully shown.
Profe Balluff is a teacher at Northwest High School who runs GSA and Spanish clubs, is a feminist, and she shows inclusivity to everyone. Balluff is someone who is not afraid to speak out against something that is not right.
“There are some aspects of her most recent content that limit the portrayal of women’s progress,” said Balluff.
While her point is understandable, Carpenter’s songs do not set women back. All of her songs that mention men call men out for their behavior. She should not be the one people are worried about. The men should be, not a woman who is only expressing her sexuality.
“So it comes off… like romanticizing submissive women,” said Balluf.
Carpenter’s songs for this album Manchild, Nobody’s Son, Sugar Talking, and Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry, with lyrics that state she will never let the man know where he stands, there’s no man for her to believe in, asking a man if he wants a prize for missing her, and calling men manchildren, clearly show that this album cover is not romanticizing submissive women. It is taking ownership of the role of submissive women, making it satirical, and showing the world that being submissive and treating women like dogs is ridiculous. Carpenter is ready to move on from these stereotypes; the rest of the world should be, too.
