This year, Christmas is arriving earlier than usual. In the promotional video for her upcoming Netflix holiday special, Sabrina Carpenter can be seen saying, “I wouldn’t count on a Silent Night,” while also giving a wink and tossing her blonde hair. It is the kind of clever insinuation that has driven Carpenter to the forefront of pop culture: she likes having sexual encounters, and she does not care who is aware of this fact.
In contrast to the days when her Disney stablemates Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus were subjected to pressure to sexualize themselves and then demonized once they did so, this is a welcome and pleasant development. She is witty and candid in interviews and on stage, laughing about her sex life – and Barry Keoghan, whom she is rumored to have broken up with in the past few days – and the increasingly mature themes in her music since she left the Disney-owned label Hollywood Records (for Island) in 2021. Carpenter appears to be more in control of her surroundings today. In August, she stated to Variety that she regarded Short n’ Sweet to be “a sophomore [second] album” despite the fact that it was her sixth album. This was due to the fact that she maintained “full creative control” over the album’s sound and appearance.
Although she is sexually open and appears to have total control over her creative process, she has not been completely protected from criticism. “Lolita” marketing, which capitalizes on her youth (she is 25 but could pass as early adolescent) and tiny stature (she is just 5 feet) has led to suggestions that her provocative lyrics, outfits, and choreography are inappropriate. This is especially true when one considers that a significant portion of her fanbase is comprised of pre-teens. Social media users and bloggers have referred to her as “Lolita.”
Carpenter is the breakout pop star of 2024; her song “Short n’ Sweet” shot to number one all over the world, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and she opened for Taylor Swift on her Eras tour, which broke records. Carpenter’s holiday special, which is titled “A Nonsense Christmas,” is just the latest accomplishment on her list of accomplishments.
While sitting gently on Santa Claus’s knee, she performs songs from her 2023 holiday-themed EP Fruitcake alongside other artists such as Chappell Roan and Shania Twain. The trailer also has her singing the songs. The lyrics feature double-entendres such as “I need that Charles Dickens,” and we show her clutching a vibrating present box that she states includes “a massager” amid laughter. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the massager is the kind that is offered in Ann Summers. Her ensembles, on the other hand, are consistent with her typical girly-girl style, which consists of pastel mini dresses adorned with cut-out love hearts, retro nightwear covered in feathers and lace, and garters and suspenders. These outfits are reminiscent of the vision of the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov that was envisioned by Hollywood directors Stanley Kubrick and Adrian Lyne.
It is possible that Nabokov’s story about a professor who grooms, kidnaps, and sexually abuses his step-daughter, who is 12 years old and “precociously seductive,” would have remained a flashpoint for improper relationships if it had not been adapted into films in 1962 and 1997, respectively. Instead, Lolita, which was Humbert Humbert’s nickname for tiny Dolores Haze, became a byword for a plaything that is both pure and sexually attractive for older men. Kubrick’s film, in particular, contributed to the continuing mystery surrounding Lolita by depicting her as a “untouched” beauty who wore exposing bikinis and red heart-shaped sunglasses. Sue Lyons, who was just 14 years old at the time, played the role of Lolita in the film.
In her September shoot for W Magazine, which included a recreation of Lyne’s shot of Dolores (there played by Dominique Swain) lying in her garden and getting soaked by water sprinklers, Carpenter has borrowed heavily from the aesthetic of both films. This is most noticeable in her shoot, which was photographed by Zoë Ghertner. However, Carpenter has also borrowed heavily from the aesthetic of both films. However, despite the fact that there was an evident attempt to draw a link between Carpenter (young, attractive, and sexually adventurous) and Dolores (young, beautiful, and yet to be corrupted), the allusion was not made at all in the copy.
This sparked an article by American writer Jade Hurley that was published on Substack and has since gone viral. The piece was titled “Your favorite is selling a pedophilic fantasy.” She made the following argument: “The Sabrina Carpenter machine is using a hyper-sexualized girlhood from the 1990s as the core aesthetic for an adult singer.” In addition, regardless of whether or not it was done on purpose, this branding move gives audiences the option of pedophilic fantasy.
Carpenter is the subject of a significant quantity of marketing material that is constructed with the intention of highlighting her young as well as her size. She is a lively and self-assured twentysomething, but above all else, she is short. The name of her album is a reference to her height, and her admirers have given her the moniker “Polly Pocket.” Her enormous platform heels are designed to bring attention to the fact that, if she did not wear them, she would be child-sized.
Carpenter is pictured in what appears to be a bedroom belonging to a young girl in a campaign for Skims, which is a lingerie company owned by Kim Kardashian. Her falling blonde hair is either fashioned in modest plaits or tucked behind her ears with pink ribbon bows. The campaign has gone viral. The underwear that she wears is bubblegum pink and made of lace and tulle. It is reminiscent of the slumber party scene in Grease, in which Sandy Olsson plays a goody two shoes, or of the dreamy, pastel-colored bed garments and chambers that Sofia Coppola depicts in her films.
It evokes memories of Britney’s iconic 1999 photoshoot for Rolling Stone, captured by David LaChapelle in a whimsical childhood bedroom adorned with teddy bears and dolls. The cover features her reclining on a silk bed in her underwear, holding a Teletubbie toy, with the bold headline “Inside the Heart, Mind & Bedroom of a Teen Dream.” Undoubtedly, Britney’s American dream unraveled a few years later, as the relentless scrutiny from the press and the toxic misogyny surrounding her led to a mental breakdown.
Carpenter appears to have a firm grasp on her own image. A standout moment in her performances is undoubtedly the 2022 single Nonsense, where Carpenter adds a unique “outro” tailored to each show, playfully showcasing her enduring desire. At the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Luton earlier this year, she delivered the lines: “BBC said I should keep it PG / BBC I wish I had it in me / There’s a double meaning if you dig deep.”
Some, in a more peculiar manner, draw attention to her stature: her closing remarks at different Eras tour performances featured lines like “I’m full grown but I look like a niña / Come put something big in my casita” and “Gardens by the Bay, I wanna go there / Then, I’ll take you somewhere that has no hair.” Both reinforce the perception of Carpenter as a contemporary Lolita: the alluring nymphet-next-door who captivates men, allowing them to indulge their desires without concern for her age.
During her performance of Juno in Los Angeles last month, Carpenter made a bold move by rushing to the edge of the stage, dropping to her knees, and mimicking oral sex with her microphone. It was her boldest improv-choreography to date – and the reactions weren’t solely enthusiastic cheers of “You go, girl!”
Critiques directed at Carpenter for that specific moment echo the criticisms aimed at Nabokov over fifty years ago. “It’s truly baffling and unsettling that you would choose to defend someone so peculiar.” At 17, I feel a sense of fear when Sabrina Carpenter takes the stage. “You all need assistance,” stated a post on X, previously known as Twitter. Other outraged fans described it as “sickening,” “twisted,” and, to quote one particularly scathing post, “A young woman essentially performing live porn in front of young children.” It’s problematic pop. It appears they overlooked the fundamental duty of a parent to assess the suitability of a concert for their child; a single listen to Short n’ Sweet clearly shows that Carpenter’s music has evolved far beyond the realm of Disney-approved tunes.
During the 1950s, furious critics rallied to have Nabokov’s novel banned, branding it as “the filthiest book I have ever read” (The Sunday Express) and describing it as “a record of a devouring and obsessional perversion, meaningless outside its physical context” (this paper).
She isn’t the first pop star to encounter the backlash of moralists, either. Before Lana Del Rey captured the hearts of pop enthusiasts with her unique blend of sultry allure and vintage Hollywood charm, she faced significant backlash for embracing the Lolita aesthetic. In a 2011 interview with the Guardian, she described her music as reminiscent of “Lolita getting lost in the hood.” Her 2012 debut album, Born to Die, features the track Off to the Races, which references Humbert’s iconic line: “Light of my life, fire of my loins,” all while showcasing her signature lace dresses, heart-shaped sunglasses, and narratives of tumultuous relationships with older partners. Rolling Stone’s two-star review of her debut criticized its abundance of “Lolita references,” suggesting it aimed to portray “femininity as a scam, as lost girls preen for the gaze of imaginary sugar daddies.”
Today, the impact of Lolita on popular culture remains as strong as ever. On TikTok, a treasure trove of clips awaits, showcasing both film adaptations and stylish guides on embracing the “coquette” or Lolita aesthetic, each racking up millions of likes. Alongside this, you’ll discover a fascinating array of videos featuring young women, influenced by figures like Hannah Neeleman, known as Ballerina Farm, and Nara Smith, who are embracing a ‘traditional wife’ lifestyle. Picture them waiting at home in charming dresses adorned with bows, baking brownies, and embodying a serene presence.
This trend raises concerns about Carpenter’s marketing strategy. Young girls are being inundated with a media landscape that promotes domestic servitude, childish fashion, and notions of sustaining “girlhood.” On TikTok alone, there are 286 million videos tagged ‘I’m Just a Girl,’ showcasing women feigning illiteracy, ignorance of basic tools like calculators, and a lack of driving or work skills. In a world that is becoming more hostile to feminism, reports from teachers in both the UK and US highlight a rise in misogyny within schools, primarily stemming from young men influenced by online radicalization. Young women are pressured to present themselves as pure and untouched, while simultaneously being expected to be readily available to gain the desire and protection of men.
It’s no surprise that Carpenter is stepping into the spotlight – she understands that videos of her in adorable ribbons and frilly outfits, or sweetly singing about romance, are bound to go viral, elevating her fame even further. The real question lies in whether it’s inspiring her fans to embrace empowerment or merely reinforcing their presence within the toxic confines of the male gaze. Additionally, will the parents of these young fans, concerned about the sexual content, keep spending hundreds of pounds on tickets?
