Album Drop
Lorde’s NSFW Vinyl Photo Sparks Viral Debate on Gender, Art, and “Virgin” Vision
A new image of Lorde from her latest album, Virgin Vinyl, has taken over the internet — and not just because it’s revealing. Featured in the Virgin vinyl edition of the LP, the now-viral photograph shows the New Zealand singer in transparent pants without underwear, photographed from behind in a way that leaves little to the imagination while inviting deeper interpretation.
The image, shot by Talia Chetrit, isn’t just a shock tactic. It’s an extension of Virgin’s themes: self-revelation, gender fluidity, and the power dynamics embedded in how we view women’s bodies. The artist behind the lens is renowned for exploring themes of sexuality, control, and image psychology. Talia Chetrit’s work, often using nudity and mirrors, walks a fine line between exhibition and introspection, and Lorde seems to be consciously stepping into that space.
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The cover of Virgin already leaned into unconventional symbolism, featuring an X-ray of Lorde’s pelvis by German artist Heji Shin, known for clinical yet unsettling photographic projects. Together, Heji Shin and Talia Chetrit set the tone for an album that explores identity and embodiment in raw, conceptual forms.
Lorde herself has spoken about her evolving gender identity, singing in the album’s opening track “Hammer”: “Some days I’m a woman, some days I’m a man.” Throughout Virgin, her visuals and lyrics push against fixed ideas of femininity and masculinity. In the video for “Man of the Year,” she tapes down her chest and performs atop soil — a direct reference to the male-dominated Land Art movement.
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So, why the outrage? On social media, reactions have been polarizing. Some praised the photo as “artful,” “powerful,” and “gender-subversive.” Others dismissed it as an attention-seeking Lorde’s Virgin Vinyl. One post with nearly 90,000 likes sarcastically labeled the vinyl image “groundbreaking” while calling Sabrina Carpenter’s controversial album cover — showing her hair being pulled — “anti-feminist.”
Another tweet joked, “when you open your Virgin vinyl and see lordussy,” accompanied by a GIF of Miranda Cosgrove blinded by a flash of light.
Still, many users called out the double standards in how female artists are criticized. One user wrote, “If Madonna did it in the ‘90s, it was empowering. Now it’s ‘performative’?” Others highlighted the silence from those quick to attack Carpenter but hesitant to critique Lorde’s more abstract approach.
Ultimately, Lorde’s Virgin — and its accompanying visuals refuse to play by the rules. Whether seen as high-concept feminist art or bizarre self-marketing, Lorde’s NSFW vinyl moment is doing exactly what provocative art does: sparking dialogue.
As one fan put it: “It’s not about what’s shown — it’s about what we’re forced to confront in ourselves.”
