Kamala Harris’s electoral campaign has officially begun, with musical icon Charli XCX tweeting “Kamala IS brat”. What followed has been a rush of viral content dominating social media, including memes and video edits of Harris to the music of Gen Z and queer icons Charli XCX and Chappel Roan.
The viral tweet, which has amassed 53.3 million views, references Charli XCX’s new album ‘brat’ which itself has spawned ‘brat summer’.
Harris’s campaign has embraced the endorsement, changing their X cover photo to resemble the iconic ‘brat’ album cover.
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But with mainstream media outlets in the US reporting on what was seemingly harmless internet fun, will this trend help or hinder Harris’s campaign?
Dr Prudence Flowers, a senior lecturer in US history at Flinders University, says that while unlikely to determine the election outcome, the current trend will do more to energise youth voters than isolate older voters.
“It’s a really interesting line her campaign is walking. Most engagement with fan culture is happening on TikTok, which has a much younger audience than X. A lot of the ways that Kamala’s social media staff are engaging with voters isn’t necessarily happening in places where it’s going to offend older voters,” Dr Flowers said.
“It does have the capacity to really energise youth voters, we’ve already seen a spike in enrolment, particularly around young voters.”
According to Vote.org, a record-breaking 38,500 people registered to vote following Biden’s withdrawal and subsequent endorsement of Harris.
“Now not all of this has to do with this kind of meme culture, but if you look at the huge number of videos that have been produced about her using a huge array of different types of music, that is sort of media coverage and media exposure that would cost a fortune to get in front of young voters,” said Dr Flowers.
Charli XCX herself said: “brat is party, brat is fun, brat is messy, brat is sexy. Brat can be anything” or a “girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes.”
In terms of the messaging it’s sending to young people, the Brat album is kind of a celebration of partying, but also is a celebration of being messy and being vulnerable.
Brat culture predates Charli XCX depending on how far back you go. Channelling much the same ethos British singer Cher Lloyd was known as the Brat Queen and her fans brats from around 2010-11 when she had several hits in the UK and US. While the 1980s Brat Pack, a modern reincarnation of the Sinatra-led Rat Pack, featured coming-of-age youth actors like Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald.
Dr Flowers believes the essence of ‘brat’ is more significant than just promoting a lifestyle of fun and partying. She says that Harris’s team is wise to use the deeper message to reach young voters.
“In terms of the messaging it’s sending to young people, the Brat album is kind of a celebration of partying, but also is a celebration of being messy and being vulnerable,” she said.
“And I think the kind of messaging that people are drawing is that Kamala doesn’t seem as much like a polished politician, but she also doesn’t seem like the type of elderly politician that Trump and Biden represented.
“So, she’s representing something in her public persona that is a little bit more authentic and more accessible. While I don’t think this messaging is going to change the outcome come election day, I would say that it is definitely getting Gen Z voters to start paying more attention.”
Main image by Gage Skidmore/Flickr.
