The word “brat” normally refers to a naughty kid, hellbent on making adult lives miserable. But you may have noticed the insult has recently taken on a new, more positive meaning – thanks to a viral social media trend. Here, the hashtags #brat and #bratsummer are used to imply female empowerment and individuality.
The brat phenomena has spawned hundreds of thousands of TikTok videos, and numerous celebrities have gotten on board. From the actress Jessica Alba to the US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Here’s how it’s happened.
How did the brat movement get started?
In the words of British singer Charli XCX, a brat is “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it.”
Charli XCX should know. She ignited the movement with her latest studio album, titled ‘Brat’. Explaining her reinvention of the word in a TikoTok interview, the artist added that a brat is “honest, blunt and a little volatile”.
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At its core, the brat movement is being interpreted as a rallying cry for women. For them to have fun, be bold and celebrate their uniqueness. And how should they do this? The trend’s followers seem to think by shunning social expectations and rising above personal challenges.
There’s a brat look, too. Right?
Charli XCX’s album – released last month on the Atlantic label – not only breathed new life into an old word, but gave it a whole aesthetic and representative colour (namely, lime green).
According to the artist in a BBC interview, the brat look is “quite luxury, but it can also be so, like, trashy. Just like, a pack of cigs, and like, a Bic lighter, and like, a strappy white top. With no bra.”
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Both the music (electropop, if you were wondering) and look have resonated with a lot of younger millennials and the Gen Z, who responded by declaring a “brat summer” via TikTok. This entails posting videos of themselves dancing to the Charli XCX’s song Apple, and hoping to go viral.
Who is Charli XCX?
Charlotte Emma Aitchison or Charli XCX, as she is known on stage, is a 31-year-old electropop artist who first entered the music industry back in 2008. She’s from England.
She started out by uploading her work on the now-defunct social media platform Myspace, gradually gained recognition through writing songs for performers like Iggy Azalea, and is now a successful artist in her own right.
‘Brat’, her sixth studio album, features 15 songs including Apple. It debuted in third place on the Billboard 200.
How did Vice President Kamala Harris get involved?
US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against former president Donald Trump as the Democratic candidate in the upcoming US election, was anointed as a “brat” by Charli XCX herself. It happened in an X post that read, “kamala IS brat.”
As Harris’ public persona does not appear to be that of a messy party girl, she can perhaps be more accurately considered an honorary brat exemplified by her willingness to run as the first Black female candidate in the US general election. Taking on Trump is no mean feat.
Unsurprisingly, Harris’ election campaign is leaning into Charli XCX’s endorsement (and the brat movement’s viral traction) as a way to appeal to younger voters. For example, the campaign’s X.com page, Kamala Harris HQ, now mirrors the Brat album’s cover in its lime green colour and font.
Should parents be worried about the brat trend?
While brat is clearly intended as a positive concept encouraging females to be courageous and to embrace their idiosyncrasies, LifeStance Health therapist Nicholette Leanza told Parents.com that the movement could encourage reckless tendencies in youngsters.
“[It] cultivates a hedonistic attitude of ‘I can do what I want, when I want’,” she warned. As such, Leanza suggested that “parents [can] help balance this by teaching that it’s OK to speak their mind and be assertive as long as it’s not disrespectful or dismissive of others.”
