As pundits try to understand “brat summer,” Newsweek asked Gen Z whether Kamala Harris encapsulates what it means to be “brat.”
The term “brat summer” is taking the internet by storm—and helping to drive Vice President Kamala Harris’ popularity among young voters.
Since British pop star Charli XCX launched the album Brat on June 7, Gen Zers and LGBTQ people have been using the term “brat summer” to describe a hedonistic few months under the sun.
In mid-July, the term’s usage took an unexpected turn, as people began to notice “fan-cams” of Harris set to the music from the album. After President Joe Biden endorsed Harris for the presidency, her campaign’s @KamalaHQ account on X, formerly Twitter, changed its banner to the same chartreuse green color of the Brat album cover.
Suddenly, the term “brat” has moved beyond Brooklyn to the orbit of the woman who will likely challenge Donald Trump for the presidency on November 5. But is “brat” the right messaging for Harris and her campaign?Is Kamala “Brat”?
Charli XCX has previously said that a brat is someone who “says some dumb things sometimes” and is “honest, blunt and a little bit volatile.”
On July 22, the pop star posted on X, “Kamala IS Brat”—a sentence that means a lot to some and absolutely nothing to others. As of July 23, the post had received 49 million views.
The word “brat” is typically considered disparaging. It implies a whiny person, usually a girl, who is spoiled and rude. Charli’s rebranding seems to push back on that idea, asking, “Why am I called a brat for demanding more out of life?”
Though Harris and a hard-partying icon from Essex, both of whom have South Asian heritage, may seem to have little in common, there are aspects of each woman’s rise that binds them.
Charli, 31, grew out of an online grassroots fandom. Working as a musician since she was 14, she was first discovered on Myspace and went on to DJ underground raves before producing several records. To her fans—known online as “angles”—the success of Brat, the singer’s sixth studio record, shows off the years of hard work she has put into her music.
