“Kamala really hired chronically online Gen Z interns omg she knows her market trump beware,” remarked an X user after Kamala Harris’ campaign adopted Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ summer theme for her X account.
kamala IS brat
— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024
The pop culture ‘brat’ aesthetic—known for its slime-green color, self-awareness, and clubbing vibe—has been embraced by Harris’s campaign following Charli XCX’s description of her as a ‘Brat’. A viral post, shared after Biden’s endorsement of Harris, garnered 45 million views and spurred a wave of memes and videos mixing clips of Harris with Charli XCX’s album “Brat”.
To combat the negative rhetoric from Donald Trump’s campaign, Harris’s team has integrated the Brat theme, incorporating the vibrant green and minimalist design of Charli XCX’s album cover. She is now being dubbed the Coconut Queen, a reference to a viral video where Harris reflects on her mother’s tough love, saying, “My mother used to—she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris added, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
ANOTHER BRAT EDIT OF KAMALA MY GOD 😭😭😭 honestly shes kinda giving lets hope shes the one pls pic.twitter.com/oZhLwOb5nk
— Homophobic Ryoshu (@wiferyoshu) July 21, 2024
This quirky remark has become a rallying cry for her supporters, and the Brat theme is gaining traction, with even lawmakers getting involved.
Ryan Long, a 22-year-old college student, created one of the most viral Harris fancam videos, pairing the candidate with imagery from *Brat*. “In today’s society, it’s easy to feel powerless,” Long told the Washington Post. “Getting politically involved can be daunting. Sometimes, all you can do is create edits and tweet.”
why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb
— ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024
What does it mean to be Brat?
Being a brat usually implies misbehavior. Charli XCX’s album delves into themes of sadness and insecurity about life choices and friendships, while also celebrating success and the thrill of partying. This concept challenges societal norms that seldom allow women to be both confident and vulnerable. “You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes,” Charli XCX explained in a TikTok video. “Who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”
Although Charli XCX hasn’t specified why she believes Harris embodies Brat, the vice president’s laughter and playful comments have been widely memed and used by the right wing to ridicule her.
Kamala Harris’s TikTok Campaign: Embracing ‘Femininomenon’
In addition to adopting Charli XCX’s brat theme for her X account, Harris’s TikTok campaign has incorporated Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon.”
I’m here for an American femininomenon.pic.twitter.com/K9e6OgQ9H3
— Gerald Joseph, MSW, LCSW, ACM, PATP (@gerald_joseph90) July 23, 2024
What is Femininomenon?
Chappell Roan described the term in February, explaining, “We just kind of obviously made the word up. But it was about like how it’s a phenomenon if like sleeping with a man is better than sleeping with a girl, from my perspective, at least. So I was like, ‘It’s a phenomenon, but it’s also feminine.’ And so we just kind of mushed it together.”
The term represents a rallying cry for feminism, endorsing the idea that female empowerment is both a phenomenon and a season’s theme. “Because women know what they need, just like men but need to acknowledge it,” Roan stated.
