Since 2024, the rise of Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter in the pop music world can’t be ignored. The singers caught everyone’s attentions as their songs are joyful, but there is another thing that caught the listener’s attention… the lyrics. The artists are open when singing about their pleasure and sexual liberty, but people are hating on them for it. Why is this happening?
It is known that talking about sex, and especially female pleasure, is a taboo in society, due to a long history of gendered sexual repression. On the other hand, music is a form of expression. People can sing about whatever they like, but how many times has something that society implemented has stopped them from expressing themselves?
Pop songs about sex have been around for decades
The relation between women in pop and constant sexualization has always been complicated. In the 80’s, Madonna already scandalized the world with her provoking sensualism, but she paid the price of being constantly criticized and rotulated as a “bad influence”. Britney in the 2000’s ? The same. She was hyper sexualized by the media and society since she was a teen, but when trying to take control over her own life, she suffered from a cruel backlash.
So what changes now? First, the internet and social media have helped normalize discussions around sexual relationships and disseminate important knowledge about health. Also, Sabrina and Chappell don’t talk exclusively about sex – they do that with humor, sarcasm and a touch of theater.
In “Espresso”, Sabrina plays with double meaning phrases, turning desire into something fun, while Chappell uses her own extravagance to change the masculine judgement and live life as it is. And there’s more: besides the Grammy winners, a lot of artists that also sing about feminine pleasure are a part of the LGBT+ community or have a strong queer base. That influences whether how they see sensuality – not as a product for the men, but a celebration of liberty and identity.
As time goes by, artists like Sabrina and Chappell continue to break barriers, they don’t just confront taboos, but also mold a new pop narrative. What before was treated as a scandal or boldness now firms itself as a legit space of expression and autonomy. Sex itself, which has for so long been controlled by the male judgement, now is being sung from a feminine perspective.
No shame, no rodeos and mainly, no asking for permission.
If the 2000’s were marked by a pop that flirted with sensuality in the most ambiguous form, 2025 has no time for half-spoken stuff. The new pop divas are not worried about pleasing the conservative public, and if that makes someone uncomfortable, maybe it’s a sign that revolution is working. After all, pop was always about provoking, and this new generation of singers is doing it better than ever. Not for the shock itself, but for the liberty and talking (and singing) about whatever they’d like.
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The article above was edited by Giulia El Houssami.
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