"If you've been paying attention to any form of online media for the past summer, you know two things: Kamala Harris is running for president, and the word “brat” has a whole new meaning. But what do they have to do with each other?" --cece burger, 7th grade
If you've been paying attention to any form of online media for the past summer, you know two things: Kamala Harris is running for president, and the word “brat” has a whole new meaning.
But what do they have to do with each other? If you're over the age of 39 you may not know why “Kamala Harris is brat” or what it even means, unless you're my dad, he’s cool. (Shout out to my dad). So if you want to make it to Charli xcx’s performance in October and need to convince your parents for the ticket money, let me do the talking because this is where the mess of politics, Charli, X, and so much more come together.
You might be asking yourself, “CeCe, who even is that xcx girl?”
I'll tell you! Get out your notepad! Charli xcx born, “Charlotte Emma Aitchison,” is a singer, songwriter and a “British powerhouse” according to Teen Vogue’s article on her. Making music since 2008 on the now retired app, Myspace, Teen Vogue was right, as she’s been working for a while towards a big breakthrough in her career.
After her unofficial first album, 14, released in 2008, she was mostly an “underground” artist until her first big song “I Love It” came out in 2013 and ended up on Billboard's hot 100, peaking at 7th. Just one year later in 2014, Iggy Azalea and Charli made another hit, “Fancy,” peaking number one on the billboard for over four weeks after its release. This made it Charli’s first number one on the billboard.
She had lots of other smaller hits over the next years, coming out with roughly 10 albums, including a single for the movie The Fault in our Stars titled “Boom Clap.” If you're an early 2000’s baby, I know you remember that beat.
Then, in 2023 she took a deal from Mattel to make a song on the award winning Barbie movie. And thus the song “Speed Drive” was born, reaching 6th on the UK 100 billboard. It was loved by everyone! The fast, almost gibberish way she was speaking over a loud beat drew out the party girl in everyone and absolutely hit off with the Barbie crowd!
After the song died down, Charli sat in her fame for about a year before June 7th this year, when she dropped the album brat- AND FANS LOVED IT! Just like “Speed Drive.” It was a kind of, mean girls rule the world, Beyonce moment. Kind of like a rebellious version of pop, like she couldn't care less about your emotions, And just like that, brat summer of July and August 2024 began.
Now that you know who she is, the question still stands, What is brat? Alice Stewart, a 6th grade Literary Arts student, explains the word as a “spoiled stuck up person.” Which is usually true, but what of that was a good thing?
Well, The Guardian had some very strong opinions on the meaning of said word. “It’s not a feminine ideal, brat, because it rejects the social surveillance that requires all young women to be the same way.” Which could be a bad thing, or it could be more like Teen Vogue’s take, “ An anti-aesthetic of sorts, the brat look is unintentional, effortless and slightly retro.”
As you can see, the brat style is heavily debated. What could be called “trashy, scandalous and, ugly” can also be described as “retro, real and street style.” If you were brat, you might wear a ripped tank top with stains and still get compliments. Might I say rightfully so. But brat isn't just “trashy” you can dress however you’d want and still be brat! It’s a mindset, a careless mindset—if even that! It's a broad subject that has pretty much no barriers, boys, girls, everyone, old, young—they can all be brat!
So now that we’ve got a grip on brat, what does it have to do with Kamala Harris?
On July 21st, Charli posted, “kamala IS brat” on X. Mere hours after Kamala Harris announced her campaign for president after President Biden stepped down.
And the army Charli had formed across social platforms heard her, loud and clear. USA Today and Suffolk University did a poll among voters between the ages of 18 and 34 and found Harris had 24% of voters between those ages showing their support, as opposed to Biden, and 11% more than Trump.
She had also improved her support from Hispanic voters by 16%, Black voters by 17% and 23% for low income people and families. News Week says that “Kamala Harris’s “brat” campaign seems to be paying off as polls show a strong surge in Gen Z voters.”
Adding on to that, I believe her reason for reaching more people is because of how much publicity Charli has in general for her brat album. While there is no official merch for brat, an intentional decision of Charli to inspire creative and original ways or style, she’s still made a huge imprint in media outside of music and identifying with brat.
As it becomes the colder months, summer is over, and Charli leaves us with some parting words on X, “goodbye forever brat summer” on September 2nd. Now a running joke online is “Bat fall” which will be another story if it blows up. While it's sad to see brat go I don't think the word will ever sound the same. (She’s still coming in October to the San Francisco Chase center!) So now your parents can get off your case about those tickets.
(Kamala Harris Edit)
