Singer Olivia Rodrigo (23) responds for the first time to the persistent criticism of her ‘babydoll’ dresses. They would send the wrong signal. No woman should have to hear such nonsense responses, she believes. What they are, the entire fashion press agrees.
Media and culture editor
It’s not often that the press makes such a concerted effort to educate readers. But whether it is renowned fashion magazines such as Elle and Vogue are, or major newspapers like The Guardian: they all look at what happens to Rodrigo, shaking their heads.
The singer, since her hit Drivers License one of the biggest pop stars in the world, will soon release a new album. This includes a new clothing style, with ‘babydoll’ dresses: short, wide and with lovely prints.
That choice has received a lot of criticism. The dresses are said to be childish and sexy at the same time and people think that combination is wrong. It sounds like making money by sexualizing youth. “That meant a lot to me,” the singer said on Friday Popcast by The New York Times. The fragment has been viewed 3.3 million times in a short time.
‘Girls should never hear this’
“What’s really worrying about it…” she begins. “I have worn revealing outfits on stage. I was in a shiny bra and shorts. That is my right, that is nice. I felt cool and comfortable in that. That was not inappropriate. But when I was completely covered in a dress that people thought was childish, it was wrong.”
She didn’t find it sexy at all. “If we start dressing with the idea: I don’t want that or that fucking freak will think I’m sexy as a baby, or something retarded like that… Then we’ll get a little lost. I want to protect young women and girls and they should never hear something like this.”
The criticism “shows how we normalize pedophilia in our culture,” says Rodrigo. “It’s about a story that we as girls have heard since we were very little. Don’t wear that, because then a man will sexualize your body and it will be your fault.”
That is the core, according to the press. Anyone who finds a childish dress sexy should look in the mirror and not blame the wearer. Or like Vogue headlines: ‘Rodrigo’s dress is not the problem, your thoughts about it are’.
Jeffrey Epstein
According to several magazines, the discussion touches on a broader social fear surrounding the sexualization of young girls. They mention pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who abused girls on a large scale. Partly because of that case, the way in which women appear in the media is under a magnifying glass. But the watchful eye must be directed towards men.
“Our legitimate concerns about women and girls are unfairly placed on… women and girls,” writes Vogue. “We are critical of clothing, while the systems that endanger young women continue to exist,” concludes Cosmopolitan.
Such systems, like Epstein’s secret networks, are abstract and difficult to hold accountable from your keyboard. Then it is easier to protest against a dress, explains Refinery29 out. But so wrong.
Cold, dead hands
The criticism also ignores the history of babydoll dresses, writes TheCut. They have been around for about a hundred years: sometimes they were used to celebrate femininity, sometimes as a contrast. Punk rockers like Courtney Love tore up the fabric and screamed like animals while looking girlish.
Rodrigo has called Love an inspiration several times, so there’s a good chance she’s honoring her. At the same time, Olivia looks clean, so maybe she just wants to wear the dresses without any thought behind it. We shouldn’t give them that, says the press. A 23-year-old can wear whatever she wants, without taking into account the looks of men.
Courtney Love herself also leaves no room for misunderstanding. “If you want to take the baby doll from us, you have to pull it from my cold, dead hands.”
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