Let’s Talk About Sabrina Carpenter.

Not just the bop queen behind “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” but how she’s serving retro sex kitten realness at a time when Gen Z feminism is slowly (but surely) taking a slightly right-winged turn.

Sabrina’s upcoming album, Man’s Best Friend, is already sparking headlines. The cover? She’s on her knees, with a man cropped out of frame but gripping her hair. It set Twitter ablaze, igniting a debate about whether her aesthetic and her brand of femininity is empowering or setting women back.

But don’t get it twisted: this aesthetic might look “submissive” on the surface, but it’s actually a masterclass in power through performance.

She channels a sexually suggestive, submissive femininity straight out of the ’50s–’70s. Think Brigitte Bardot meets Barbiecore or, as a viral tweet perfectly put it: Lana Del Rey’s younger, happier, horny little sister with an “I’m attracted to men, but I won’t allow them to ruin my life” energy.

Whether she knows it or not, Sabrina shows us that embracing a feminine aesthetic on your own terms is a power move. It’s about reclaiming control over how you’re perceived.

Because beauty isn’t just about looks. It’s a language. A system. A battlefield.

And for Black and multicultural women, it’s even more layered. We’re often denied the freedom to be “soft,” “sexy,” or “sweet” without being oversexualized, stereotyped, or dismissed. Sabrina’s aesthetic reminds us: femininity isn’t inherently weak, it's just been coded that way.

But in reality? You can be the fantasy and the mastermind. You can serve a submissive look and still be in control of the whole damn room.

Beauty is more than vibes. It's a cultural expression. Narrative reclamation. And honestly? A weapon.

It’s all about intention. If you’re choosing softness, seduction, or glam because it feels good to you, that's power.

Femininity isn’t weakness. It’s a weapon when you’re the one wielding it. And Sabrina’s aesthetic reminds us: beauty is a game and the girls who get it are already winning.

Curating beauty on your own terms?
That’s revolutionary.