Some performers decide to proudly reclaim their sexual freedoms by making it a part of their image. Beyoncé Knowles has been famously criticized for her stage attire over the course of her entire career, and not in the least by many in the feminist community itself. Many feminists believe that the sexuality of power-femme performers like Beyoncé is a way of giving away their power by restraining their value solely to the more sexualized aspects of their acts. As one controversial feminist figure put it, “why is sexual display part of the job? I might as well ask that question to a barmaid who says she doesn’t get any tips if she doesn’t show cleavage.” (Beaumont-Thomas). This criticism has long existed for power femmes like Beyoncé, and it goes beyond the wardrobe. With the same rationale people have criticized her lyrics, which often involve sexual topics both explicit and subliminal. In fact, most of Beyoncé’s content is in some way sexually charged. However, the way Beyoncé presents herself has not only garnered hate. Many feminists have praised her for violently breaking down American society’s standards of sexual purity in women. Beyoncé’s sexual attitudes directly attack the archetype of a virtuous, abstinent woman by replacing her with a powerful, sexually open woman (Tinsley). It is not the fact that she embraces sexuality in her content and presentation, but rather that she can achieve that while retaining an image of strength, power, and respect; a direct opposition to the tradition of slut-shaming discussed earlier.

However, it is not easy to establish such an image. Taylor Swift famously regrets going in the opposite direction in her pursuit of stardom and embracing the image of the sexually pure “good girl”. Swift was pushed both socially and by her business partners to present this image, later recounting that, “The main thing that I always tried to be was a good girl… I became the person who everyone wanted me to be.” (Wilson). In contrast to Beyoncé, her early lyrics go no further than handholding, maybe the occasional kiss. It is important to note that a lack of sexuality is not in itself the issue but that it was done out of a pressure to conform to a standard instead of by Swift’s own volition. “Throughout my whole career, label executives would just say, ‘A nice girl doesn’t force their opinions on people; a nice girl smiles and waves and says thank you.’ I became the person everyone wanted me to be.” (Wilson). This reveals another aspect of the purity politics of the U.S., wherein a pure, virtuous, woman also must be submissive, not causing too much disturbance.

Billie Eilish was famous upon her debut for wearing baggy clothes. The musician spoke publicly about her decision to keep her body away from the view of others to avoid the scrutiny that other female artists have faced in the past as has been discussed. Still, when photographs emerged of Eilish wearing a tank top and began circulating the internet, she had to make a stand for herself:

Lady Gaga’s example presents one of the most dangerous aspects of America’s views on sexual purity. When she was just 19, Lady Gaga was raped and left pregnant by a producer. It was a horribly traumatic experience for her, and she was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder years after. Gaga said this about her experience, “Because of the way that I dress, and the way that I’m provocative as a person, I thought that I had brought it on myself in some way”. (Owoseje) The social understanding of sexual abuse and purity are so toxic that even Gaga felt compelled to engage in her self-inflicted victim-blaming. Verbal abuse is easy to ignore even when it hurts us, but it is particularly difficult to hear that Gaga herself was led to believe her own rape was her fault because she did not present significant enough sexual restraint in her public appearances.

Men in American society are often pushed to engage in sexual situations by their peers. It is seen as a necessity that young men sexually debut in order to fully attain adulthood. This 18-year-old described it to his interviewer:

The less overt effect of the conquest ideal is that of the “gentleman” archetype. In categorizing women, those viewed as more pure are favorable to those who are not, particularly if they are virgins:

The Gentleman is particularly popular in country music, and it contributes to the pressure for women to present themselves as “good girls”. Dustin Lynch, for example, sings in his song “Good Girl” about his significant other and wanting to marry them because they are a “good girl”. While this pales in comparison to the overt sexism in “Blurred Lines” there is a clear perpetration of the notions discussed earlier. The unnamed woman’s only requirement for Lynch to want to marry her seems to be that she be a “good girl”, given that apparently, he still can’t believe he found her. This implies the notion that the supposed “good girl” is a rare encounter, thus prompting her description by Lynch as “the kind of thing you gotta lock down” (Lynch). Aside from referring to the woman as a “thing”, the lyric is particularly problematic because it is another example of the complete removal of agency for the woman. The lock is strongly symbolic of a revoking of freedom, and the grammar of the phrase implies that this is something that is done to the woman, not as a mutual decision. While often presented as the honest, good man, The Gentleman does not see the woman as an equal. She is still held to the same double standards and scrutiny, just without the public belittlement.

It is evident the ways in which American society views and polices sexual purity, and how that directly performers based on their gender. I should be noted that further discussion of this topic also reveals that within these issues lie homophobic and racist traditions as well, but that is not the scope of this paper. The American music industry holds unjust gender-based standards for how musicians can present themselves to the public based on American society’s views on sexual purity. While we are no longer burning women at the stake, it is clear we are still far from gender equality in the industry.