A recent series of events in pop culture has sparked renewed debate about what feminism looks like in 2025.
Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming album cover for Man’s Best Friend shows the singer kneeling submissively before a suited man, prompting heated reactions.
Hollywood actress Sydney Sweeney has also faced critics for selling soap made with her own bathwater.
Critics argue the stunt commercialises female sexualisation and risks setting feminism back.
Meanwhile, OnlyFans creator Bonnie Blue announced plans for a 24-hour “petting zoo” stunt, where she would be naked and tied up inside a glass box, allowing participants to interact with her.
Are celebrities and online influencers driving the conversation? And is feminism moving backwards in 2025?
On Monday morning’s episode of The Briefing, we sat down with Cheek Media CEO Hannah Ferguson to unpack what these moments say about modern feminism.
Ferguson said that these moments reflect a complex and divided feminist landscape.
“I think both of them (Sweeney and Carpenter) know the response that will occur to these images and advertisements and products, we think actually it’s very clever marketing and it’s starting conversations,” she said.
Ferguson argued that pop culture has turned into a battleground for wider social issues.
“I think feminism right now is struggling to rail against Trump’s America and the sort of geopolitical impact that that’s had globally, and instead we’re saying I can attack Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover because that feels like it’s something within my sphere of influence and within my sphere of control.”
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