The Sexual Liberation of This Merch

When my friends started talking about the podcast Call Her Daddy, I was honestly turned off. It took listening to several episodes for me to understand the appeal of these women and their radical new show. Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn’s podcast is seen by many as a platform for women to explore and understand their sexuality and learn to feel comfortable with it—as men have been doing for much of history.

Walking around Elon’s campus, we were able to spot many women wearing oversized sweatshirts and leggings to class. Upon taking a closer look, a sprinkling of these sweatshirts host the Barstool and Call Her Daddy slogans, with the quote “I am Unwell” on full display. This new trend of CHD merch can be seen on college campuses across the country, worn primarily by young women.

When women wear Call Her Daddy branded items in public and around campus, they are revealing to the world their confidence and comfort with their sexuality. While these clothing items have a small range—from sweatshirts and tees to hats and slides—they are essential loungewear in many girls’ closets. They’re comfy and cute… but with a twist.

These clothing articles are comfortable yet still have an undertone of sex appeal because of the brand connotation. Call Her Daddy merch has shown us that comfort can be sexy and that young women don’t need to feel pressured to try so hard. 

This trend also reveals significant sociocultural development over the past 40 years. When speaking to my mom about her time in college and her thoughts on the matter, she said this sexual identity in women did not exist during her time in college.

“When I was in college in the early 80s, the Call Her Daddy movement just couldn’t have occurred. Women were just getting comfortable with their own sexuality because of magazines like Cosmopolitan. But we would not have shared that with T-shirts or even conversation. And at that point, we didn’t think of owning or enjoying our sexuality in the way that this new movement demonstrates. Issues like promiscuity were still very much part of our social scene.”

I decided to ask a few girls around Elon’s campus what their impression is when they see someone wearing Call Her Daddy apparel. The responses were pretty much all supportive of the brand.

One Elon student said simply, “I think she’s a savage.” Another explained, “I feel like sometimes there is judgment toward girls who wear them, and I feel like it’s not worth it. I would buy the sweatshirt if I liked the design more.” Overall, students voiced opinions of support for the podcast and merch.

Whether you choose to support the Daddy Gang brand by sporting a hoodie around campus or just by listening in the privacy of your car (or if you have no idea who these women are), it’s safe to say the Call Her Daddy duo is helping normalize sexuality in young women with their raunchy jokes and iconic loungewear.