On April 1st, artist Ethel Cain (@mothercain) posted a set of controversial images on her Instagram. These images featured Cain posing dramatically on a bed with her bottom half exposed, proudly displaying Cain’s genitals – a penis and testes.
What’s the issue here? First, let’s get into the lore.
Ethel Cain is the creative alter-ego of Hayden Silas Anhedönia, born in 1998 in Tallahassee, Florida.
She is the youngest of 4 and was introduced to music through her Southern Baptist church, where her father was a deacon and her mother was in the choir.
At age 12, she came out as gay to her family, and at 16, she left the church. On her 20th birthday, she came out as a trans woman.
In speaking about creating the identity, Anhedönia said, “I wanted Ethel Cain to be the poster child for what I feel is the casualty of being an All-American girl.”
Cain’s story, as told throughout her albums Golden Age (2019), Inbred (2021), Preacher’s Daughter (2022), Perverts (2025), and Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You (2025) intertwines with Anhedönia’s as Cain sings of the treacheries of growing up in an uncompromising church, of surrendering her body to older men, and of enduring love, loss, and the scars left behind.
Each album embodies raw emotion coupled with a dramatic Southern Gothic undertone to produce a uniquely beautiful sound. My favorite song is “Strangers”, from the album Preacher’s Daughter. Cain describes going to extreme lengths to please a man who told her he loved her, when all he had was a lustful desire to consume her. I think we can all relate to giving up a piece of ourselves for someone else’s validation.
So, what’s the controversy with the Instagram post?
Most importantly, Cain’s genitalia are fully exposed on an app used by minors. Instagram did cover the post, but when given the option to see why, Instagram states, “This post doesn’t go against our Community Standards, but may contain images that some people might find upsetting.” In looking deeper into Instagram’s policies, it is noted that real-world art and certain medical, educational, and awareness-raising content are allowed with a warning.
So, is this post awareness-raising? User @transgenderdistrict commented, “talk about visibility!!”. Other commenters left paragraphs about how validating it was to see an authentic transwoman, especially one that has not undergone a complete medical transition, unapologetically posting herself.
Still, there were many more hateful comments than positive. While it’s true the post was a jump scare – nobody was prepared to see that on their feed – it doesn’t explicitly violate Instagram’s guidelines (at least in my opinion).
So, what’s the verdict here? I don’t know – hence the controversy. All I know is I’m excited to see what’s next from Ethel Cain.