As Tagesspiegel reports, the 23-year-old pop singer Olivia Rodrigo has released her new album “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.” But instead of talking about her music, the public is mainly discussing her clothing: Rodrigo wears a babydoll, an extremely short, flared nightgown, at performances, and ruffled shorts in the music video. Critics accuse her of deliberately staging herself in a childlike manner.
The debate, often conducted under the term “girlhood,” revolves around the perception and evaluation of female pop stars. It’s not just about style, but about why appearance often speaks louder than art. Rodrigo herself has commented on the criticism and defended her style.
Yet her album is musically impressive. It showcases Rodrigo’s talent for epic arcs, from quiet piano ballads to driving rhythms, underpinned with strings. Tracks like “stupid song” and “the cure” recall classics by Elton John, U2, or Taylor Swift. On the track “what’s wrong with me,” Robert Smith of The Cure even appears as a guest vocalist.
The album cover shows Rodrigo on a swing in a skimpy school uniform – a reference to the pop culture phenomenon “girlhood,” also celebrated by filmmaker Sofia Coppola or pop star Sabrina Carpenter. The discussion about Rodrigo’s style is thus part of a larger societal debate about the portrayal of femininity in pop culture.
Source: www.tagesspiegel.de
