Charli XCX's Brat Album Iconography & its Reclamation of the “Brat”
- kayleighgreig
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
Editorial Assistant Juliette Allen celebrates the subversion of being “Bratty” through her study of Charli XCX’s ubiquitous club-pop renaissance.
Charli XCX’s critically acclaimed album, Brat, was released 7 June 2024, and “quickly captivated large swathes of the general public”, ultimately becoming a cultural phenomenon.[1] Brat took listeners like myself on a ride through an avant-garde production of hyperpop and club pop that gave way to an overall thrilling listening experience. The album explored “fun, brash and vulnerable topics of self-doubt, female competitiveness […] and so much more. It channeled the chaos, joy and uncertainty of 2024 and was absolutely ubiquitous; anywhere you hear music, Brat crashed the party”.[2]
Charli’s Brat album, however, became much more than just a club and party anthem. Instead, she has created a manifesto, establishing an aesthetic and way of life that celebrates being fearless, messy, fun and honest through deeply introspective lyrics. This manifesto reclaimed a space to explore identity and challenge historical and gendered constructions of a “brat”. Make no mistake that the term “brat” is gendered, as an “epithet…more often hurled at [young] girls, whereas boys get called ‘menace’ or ‘excitable’. We can see this linguistic hierarchy playing out all over the place”.[3] Being a “brat” directly implies being spoiled or misbehaving, driving conformity to feminine and hyper-feminine constructs. Charli herself has said that being a “brat” refers to being “just a girl who is a little messy, likes to party.. can be a little volatile, does dumb things, but it’s brat”.[4] The line in her summer anthem 360 literally refers to herself as “666 with a princess streak”.
Indeed, the aesthetic of the Brat Girl Summer on TikTok, can be seen as a rejection of other popularised tropes, such as the “Clean Girl”, who looks feminine and well-kept. Brat counters performative femininity and instead conceptualises wild hair, smoky eyes, reused washed out jeans. Other up-and-coming artists, such as Lola Young, have also embraced this through rejecting the clean girl aesthetic, with her most noteworthy song, also in 2024, titled Messy. Brat centres on the “female gaze and reclaiming agency, celebrating a form of self-expression that challenges traditional gender norms”.[5]
Before Brat’s claim to fame, if someone called you a “brat”, you would probably take offence. Now, being called a “brat” is one of the highest compliments you can receive and in fact, an endearing term, deemed cool, confident, and bold. Indeed, the word “brat” has been politicised, with Charli proclaiming, “Kamala IS brat”, likely aimed to convey a sense of empowerment aligned with the Kamala Harris campaign, wanting to be on the “right side of democracy, the right side of women’s rights”.[6] Fan edits, hashtags, and memes of Kamala Harris dancing to Charli’s anthem 360 became abundant on social media. This prompted the former Vice President's campaign via @KamalaHQ to lean into the memes and endorsement and adopt a Brat-style banner on the platform X.
The iconic and prolific power of the Brat phenomenon was never more evident than when the Collins Dictionary coined “brat” as the word of the year 2024 and changed the definition of “brat” to be informally characterised “by a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude”.[7] So the “brat” is here to stay, having a lasting cultural impact. “Brat” has provided space for many in the LGBTQIA+ community, room for unapologetic self expression and a rejection of heteronormativity. “Brat” has more predominantly, however, allowed for young women to reclaim their right to be playful and carefree, embracing a more fluid expression of identity and avoiding simplistic gendered binaries that “brat” historically engendered.
The cultural momentum of Charli xcx’s Brat has been firmly cemented in pop culture, whether it be her headlining Laneway 2025 across Australia, her Grammy performances, her recent winning of five Brit Awards, or her being named songwriter of the year. This album represents an unapologetic embrace of individuality, a rebelliousness of expression and a rejection of mainstream femininity. The Brats worldwide have collectively immersed in this messy, wild and chaotic ride and have loved every minute; I know I have!
REFERENCES:
[1] Yglesias, A.M. 'Brat' Is The Sound Of Something Fighting Itself": Charli xcx Collaborators A. G. Cook, Finn Keane & George Daniel On The Album's Massive Impact. Grammy Awards, 2025
[2] Garcia, R.L. What It means To Be A “BRAT” According To Charli XCX The Benildean, 2024, https://read.thebenildean.org/2024/08/what-it-means-to-be-a-brat-according-to-charli-xcx
[3] Allen, B. Is It The Summer Of Brat? Literary Hub, 2024
[4] Garcia-Novas, D. Understanding ‘Brat’ Culture. Strike Magazine, 2024
[5] Gayathri, S. ‘It’s A Brat Summer’:The Evolution & Impact Of The Viral Charli XCX Trend Feminism In India, 2024
[6] Skinner, P. Charli XCX Wasn't Trying To Be Political, But She's Fine Being On 'The Right Side Of Democracy' Huffpost, 2024
[7] Collins. Definition Of Brat Collins Dictionary, 2024
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