They Need "The Cure"
Olivia Rodrigo Has Something To Say About That Absurd Babydoll Dress Controversy
The singer responded to accusations that her outfit infantilized and sexualized her.
The reactions to Olivia Rodrigo wearing babydoll dresses on stage have gotten out of hand, and now, she’s had enough. On the May 28 episode of The New York Times’ Popcast, the singer addressed the controversy, saying that “it’s been making me so upset” that her wardrobe has been sexualized, and slamming those who have taken her outfits out of context.
The babydoll dress has seen a resurgence in recent years, with Sabrina Carpenter making it a staple during her Short n’ Sweet era. Rodrigo embraced the trend in her “drop dead” video and wore one during a recent Spotify concert in Spain. But when Rodrigo donned them, she faced online backlash and accusations that the outfit infantilized and sexualized her, which she found absurd considering the other looks she’s tried out.
“What’s really disturbing is I have worn outfits that are maybe revealing on stage,” she said on Popcast. “I’ve been on stage in a sparkly bra and little shorts, which is my right. That’s fun, I felt cool and comfortable in that. And like that wasn’t inappropriate, but me fully covered up in a dress that people deemed to be childlike was inappropriate.”
Rodrigo said the controversy “just shows how we really normalize pedophilia in our culture” and called out the double standards of women being expected to amend their wardrobe to not distract men. “It’s just this rhetoric we’re fed as girls since we’re so little, which is, ‘Don’t wear that because then a man is going to sexualize your body and it’s your fault.’ It’s so weird,” she explained.
She also explained the outfit’s inspiration, saying she was following in the footsteps of rock “heroes” like Kathleen Hanna and Courtney Love, who made the babydoll dress look punk in the ’90s. “I didn’t think that I looked sexy in that at all,” she said. “I felt cool and comfortable in it.”
Rodrigo concluded her thoughts by expressing her hope that young women will not be expected to change their wardrobe or behavior to avoid men objectifying them.
“I just think if we start dressing in a way that’s like, ‘I don’t want some f*cking freak to think that I’m sexy like a baby,’ or some crazy thing like that, I think it’s losing the plot a little bit,” she said. “I’m just very protective of younger women, girls, and I don’t ever want them to be fed that rhetoric. You shouldn’t be responsible for some guy sexualizing you in a way that was never your intention.”
