By V Solar Miller
In her mainstream breakthrough song “Hot Girl Summer,” Megan Thee Stallion started a social summer phenomenon centered around sexual empowerment, self-improvement and having fun. Megan extended summer that year, releasing the track on Aug. 9, 2019. The girls had one long, sexy summer before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March of the following year. With the monotony of everyday life disrupted and social distancing measures enacted, the following summer was not ‘Hot Girl’ focused. Instead, Hot Girls went to Black Lives Matter protests in May and, when things got a little too hot in September, California Girls fled from major wildfires. In November, Health-Conscious Girls went to get their first Covid vaccine and the Feel The Bern Girls watched Joe Biden win the election for President of the United States against the incumbent Donald J. Trump.
Maybe it was the growing social restlessness and dissatisfaction with the state of the world, or maybe ‘hot’ was too close a reminder of our rapidly increasing global temperature averages, but it was time for ‘Hot Girl Summer’s’ symbolism for self-love and confidence to be replaced by something a bit more … naughty. In June of this year, Charlie XCX released her sixth studio album, “Brat.” The highly anticipated, garish slime-green square and Arial font album art started dozens of social media trends, and quickly developed into a new summer aesthetic. Charlie XCX and “Brat” fan, Lucy Ferguson (‘27), defines ‘Brat’ as a “mindset,” and says that “anyone can be Brat.” Self-proclaimed Megan Thee Stallion Lover Kōlea Caverly (‘25) listed off a couple of images that come to mind when she thinks of ‘Brat,’ saying that it’s “party girl, kind of like, falling out of the car, Café pouring a matcha–it’s overflowing, you know?” With that in mind, it’s clear that Brat comes in many different packages, but once you see a Brat there’s no denying the vibe. You’d never guess who decides to participate in the ‘coke on a Monday night, 2010s Kesha, throwing up in your uber,’ Brat summer aesthetic.
The United States Vice President and current Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris’s ‘Brat’ PR journey started after Charlie XCX tweeted “kamala IS brat” on July 21. This confused anyone older than a millennial, anyone outside the LGBTQ+ community and anyone who knows that Charlie XCX is British, not American. Regardless, Brat seemed to mark a turning point in Harris’s campaign. When music holds a political message, it has the potential to greatly influence the listener, as politics and music are often intertwined. “The general consumer’s positionality is going to affect what things trend, and our perceptions of what is cool, and what is interesting, and what is worth giving our attention to. It’s always political,” said Caverly. Last summer, the Eras Tour was in full swing, and for Ferguson, it was ‘Boygenius Summer.’ Taylor Swift’s lyrics are love and relationship-themed, while Boygenius is a queer celebration of the three artists’ strong friendship. The dreamy, pop tones mirror the political climate of Summer 2023: lively, influential, fun. People were memeing the Titan submersible implosion, Donald Trump’s mugshot, and convicted-diva George Santos getting expelled from congress. 2023’s summer music scene reflected the unseriousness of it all. ‘Brat’ and ‘Hot Girl Summer’ are equally as unserious, but instead of love and softness, it’s more ‘turn around and shake-ass’ focused.
This isn’t the first time the themes present in ‘Brat’ and ‘Hot Girl Summer’ were adopted by the collective social consciousness. Participant in the original ‘Hot Girl Summer’ of 2019, Cody Barth (‘25) goes so far as to compare Hot Girl Shit to “The peace symbol in the sixties.” The peace sign acted as a countercultural movement used to protest nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, that pushed familiar ideals, like basic human respect, freedom of sexuality, and women’s rights. In explaining why ‘Brat Hot Girl Shit’ is so sensational for our generation, Ferguson states that she thinks “these are themes that have been in mainstream media for a while,” she wonders “how the aesthetics will develop.”
With the current global political climate as polarized and volatile as it is, Barth solemnly remarked that society “had ‘Hot Girl Summer’ the time we needed it the least.” The atrocities unfolding worldwide have inarguably worsened since 2019– are people giving up? Does going to the club make you ignorant and shallow? “People always want distraction. People constantly do not want to be faced with reality. Nobody wants to feel uncomfortable,” Caverly said. Looking around us, it’s understandable why so many clung onto Brat’s ideology. We saw the hottest boreal temperatures to date this August, and natural disaster frequency and intensity have been exacerbated by our carbon emissions. We’re nearing the one-year mark of the ongoing U.S.- backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, where millions of Palestinians have displaced and stuck in increasingly dire living situations. What’s more, in the U.S., the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 gave states the power to criminalize abortion which has continued to result in increased maternal mortality rates.
There is a profound amount of pain around all of us right now, and the feeling of helplessness can become overwhelming. Hot Girl and Brat Summer are escapisms. You can find community and understanding, maybe even Hot Girl Camaraderie within them. Being a Hot Girl or a Brat can serve as a reminder that there is still good left in the world. We all find distraction somewhere, but it’s important not to turn away from upsetting issues. In a 2019 Variety interview, Megan Thee Stallion coaches us on how to be a Hot Girl: “you have to be kind, you have to be confident, and you have to try to vote.” Even if you feel like these issues aren’t affecting you directly and are out of your control, the best thing you can do is start talking with, and listening to the people around you. Brats, find other Hot Girls who want to show up to the local STP meeting with you. Vote, love yourself as you are, and never stop doing Hot Girl Brat Shit.