There’s a very specific kind of exhaustion that comes with being a woman — especially when your outfits become public discourse. One outfit, one photo, one performance, and suddenly everyone has something to say. (It’s brutal out here.) And lately, this scrutiny has landed on Olivia Rodrigo: On May 8, the singer held an intimate performance at the Spotify Billions Club in Barcelona, Spain, to celebrate nine of her songs reaching over a billion streams on Spotify. Soon after her performance, social media was steaming with claims that the pop star was “infantilizing herself” due to her outfit — a babydoll-style dress, bloomers, and knee-high boots.
With many fans believing that her dress was similar to something an infant would wear, social media exploded with comments about how “inappropriate” her outfit was, claiming that she was “infantilizing” herself. Rodrigo immediately became the target of comments saying that her dress was ”what a little girl would wear,” or that there was “no way on this earth” that fans should approve of the outfit. Suddenly, the conversation wasn’t about her vocals or the performance itself — it was all about what she was wearing.
It’s no surprise to see a woman being scrutinized for what she wears — regardless of whether it’s baggy, tight, or even high-neck. We’ve seen this play out with stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Tate McRae, who are frequently slut-shamed for wearing bodysuits or anything deemed “too revealing.”
But when Justin Bieber performed at the Grammys shirtless, wearing only a pair of boxers and socks, it was “creative” and “symbolic,” bringing a whole new meaning to a “stripped-down performance.” And while I see nothing wrong with what Bieber chose to wear for his performance, it’s hard to deny the double standard at play. It’s 2026; why are we still trying to control what women wear?
But here’s the thing — women aren’t just criticized for wearing revealing outfits. They’re criticized for dressing “modestly,” too. We saw this with Billie Eilish, who was constantly scrutinized for wearing baggy clothes to avoid beign sexualized. With fans constantly demanding that she dress “like a girl” and insisting that she perform in tighter clothes, she even spoke out about it when her scrutiny was at its highest. “If I was a guy and I was wearing these baggy clothes, nobody would bat an eye,” she told Complex magazine in a 2019 interview.
And she’s right. Fans obsess over Adam Sandler’s wardrobe, consisting of oversized tees and baggy shorts, even turning his nonchalant style into a trend. He’s even been seen wearing casual, baggy clothes to award ceremonies, and nobody bats an eye. But if a female celebrity does it? They’d be on the verge of being cancelled.
When I first saw Olivia Rodrigo’s performance at the Billions Club, my first thought was how incredible she sounded — it didn’t even cross my mind to compare her outfit to a child’s. It’s not like babydoll dresses haven’t been a closet staple for a majority of women for decades. At the end of the day, the discourse was never really about a dress: It’s about the way women’s clothing, bodies, and lives are constantly up for debate. Whether they cover up or show skin, whether they dress “young” or “mature,” the criticism never stops.
So, maybe instead of policing what women wear, we should start questioning why we feel so entitled to do it in the first place.