The term “Brat Summer” has become a trending online phenomenon, helping to boost Vice President Kamala Harris’ popularity among young voters.
Since British pop star Charli XCX released her album Brat on June 7, Gen Z and LGBTQ people have started using the term “Brat Summer” to describe the hedonistic months in the sun.
The term took an unexpected turn in mid-July, when people started seeing “fancams” of Harris playing songs from the album. After President Joe Biden endorsed Harris for president, her campaign’s X (formerly Twitter) account, @KamalaHQ, changed its banner to the same lime green color as Brat’s album cover.
Suddenly, the word “selfish” has spread beyond Brooklyn to the woman who is likely to challenge President Donald Trump on Nov. 5. But is “selfish” the right message for Harris and her campaign?
For those of you who don’t “know” what’s going on with the kids, one of the biggest hit albums this summer is “Brat” by Charli XCX, and they’re obsessed.
The Harris campaign clearly knows this.
Wait until Taylor Swift endorses it! ๐ฅ#Supernova pic.twitter.com/U4odIyWXhJ
โ ๐ฒ๐น๐๐พ ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ณ๏ธโ๐ (@CJ_Toronto) July 22, 2024
Is Kamala a “brat”?
Charlie XCX previously described Brat as someone who “says stupid things sometimes” and is “honest, forthright and a little quirky.”
On July 22, the pop star Posts X posted the phrase “Kamala is a brat,” a sentence that means a lot to some people and nothing to others. As of July 23, the post has been viewed 49 million times.
The word “brat” is typically derogatory – referring to a spoiled, rude, whiny person, usually a girl. Charlie’s rebranding seems to push back against that idea, asking: “Why are you called a brat if you want more from life?”
Harris and the party-loving celebrity from Essex, both of South Asian descent, may seem to have little in common, but there are aspects of each woman’s success that unite them.
Charli, 31, grew out of a grassroots fandom online: A musician since she was 14, she was first discovered on Myspace and worked as an underground rave DJ before producing several records. To her fans, known online as “Angels,” the success of Brat, the singer’s sixth studio record, shows the fruits of all the years of hard work she’s put into music.
Though Ms. Harris, 59, is unlikely to be making an appearance at an east London party anytime soon, her political rise is being viewed through a similar lens, with her supporters highlighting her years of public service, from prosecutor to vice president.
Charlie XCX. The singer’s album “Brat” is the sensation of summer 2024. Charlie XCX. The singer’s album “Brat” is the sensation of summer 2024. Andreas Lenz/Getty Images
When praising the vice president online, Harris’ supporters sometimes use a coconut emoji, a reference to a saying her mother used to say in speeches: “You young people don’t know what’s wrong with you. You think you fell out of a coconut tree.”
Why I stayed up until 3am making a Von Dutch Brat Coconut Tree edit featuring Kamala Harris, and why I can’t stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb
โ Ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024
A “fancam” to accompany the song “Von Dutch” from the album “Brat.”
Gen Z Voters
Both Charlie XCX and Harris have garnered young fan bases.
John, an 18-year-old TikTok creator from Pittsburgh, made a “fancam” video of Democrats against a green background that has become synonymous with “kids.” The video, posted to John’s @olvsens account, currently has 67,000 likes.
“I feel very different,” he told Newsweek. [post-Biden]”The whole internet seems so excited that Kamala is a nominee. I fully support her!!”
“Brat” is “an empowering trend that’s happening right now,” he said, adding, “People are telling me this album makes them feel more confident!” He sees Harris as embodying these traits.
Ms. Harris at the White House, where the vice president believes memes have helped her gain traction with Gen Z. Ms. Harris at the White House, where the vice president believes memes have helped her gain traction with Gen Z. Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
Lucy Rinzler Day, a market research analyst in New York, said the online jokes had made her like Harris more.
The 25-year-old told Newsweek magazine, “When I saw the first Brat edit, I felt two things: One, she’s such a fascinating and fun personality, and two, I felt like this was kind of a powerful gateway for her to get noticed.”
โMemes not only keep us engaged and motivated through a really important election, but they also show the silliness and absurdity of the situation.
“Is she perfect? โโNo. But should we get all worked up and rally around her for democracy? Absolutely.”
Rinzler-Day said the issues she cares about most this election are climate, the economy and reproductive rights.
She added: “Kamala deserves to be Brat Summer. I think she’s in a world where women get what they want.”
Album Analysis
Brat, which features 15 tracks on the standard edition, contains lyrics that perfectly fit Harris’ story: “I made my own way and I made it,” begins the album’s opener, “360.”
The song has become a huge hit on the internet because the lyric “I’m so Julia” is a reference to “It” girl Julia Fox, but could just as easily be replaced with “I’m so Kamala.”
The song “Girl, So Confusing” talks about how women in the music industry are expected to be best friends, but in reality, they have absolutely nothing in common and are constantly competing with each other.
The song can also be applied to other professional fields, such as politics, where female politicians are often expected to adopt a warm, maternal demeanor, despite their roles being defined by opposition and controversy. Women who do not conform to such expectations may be described as “mean.”
In “I Think About It All the Time,” Charlie ponders whether it’s time to start a family. Harris has two stepchildren but has been criticized by conservatives for not having any biological children.
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance told Fox News in 2022, “This country is effectively run by childfree, catty women who are miserable about their lives and the choices they’ve made, and they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. That’s just a basic fact.”
“You look at Kamala Harris, you look at Pete Buttigieg, you look at AOC, and you see that the entire future of the Democratic Party is hinged on people who don’t have children. And what does it mean to turn this country over to people who have no direct stake in it?”
Presidential campaigns have historically focused on which candidate appears most patriotic, so teaming up with the British pop star is a bold move for Harris’ campaign, but with millennials and Gen Z now making up more than half of the US electorate, it’s essential that her campaign reach out and appeal to younger voters.
“Go to the polls with Pokรฉmon Go” may not have worked for Hillary Clinton in 2016, but the proliferation of fan-made “kid” videos might work for Harris.
Rare knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, seeking common ground and finding connections.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, seeking common ground and finding connections.
