British pop singer Charli XCX kicked off the hot season with her “brat summer,” a veritable ode to self-acceptance. But the trend has run out of steam, and another expression has recently carved out a place for itself on TikTok: “very demure.” Here’s a look at these two social media phenomena, which are not so unrelated to each other.
“Brat Summer”: The Art of Being Completely Self-assured
The word “brat” was thrust into the limelight in June by the release of the neon green album Brat by Charli XCX. The artist’s sixth album topped the Billboard charts and racked up over 400 million streams on Spotify. One marketing campaign, one hashtag, and one viral dance later, being a brat has become an aesthetic and a state of mind to embrace this summer.
What does it mean to be a “brat”, a word that could be translated as “bitch” or “little brat”? “She’s this girl who’s a little messy, who likes to party, who says stupid things sometimes,” explains Charli XCX in a TikTok video. She’s honest, frank and a little explosive.” How does the “brat girl” present herself? With a white camisole without a bra, a pack of cigarettes and a Bic lighter, illustrates the pop star.
Watch Charli XCX’s video explaining the meaning of the word ‘brat’
It is therefore a hymn to this freedom, this lightness and this “candy and funny femininity”, explains Chris Bergeron, vice-president at Cossette and expert in culture and trends.
Charli XCX embodies this trend of the free woman, without concession, without compromise, who does not apologize for taking up space, who does not apologize for disturbing and being neglected.
Vanessa Destiné, columnist and host
The singer is enjoying huge success in an era where new pop stars are embracing their authenticity, sometimes at odds with a more polished femininity. Think of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan or Billie Eilish, who are all huge hits this summer.
The “brat summer” is also a response to last summer, “which was Barbie’s summer,” believes Vanessa Destiné. “Barbie was a little polite, a little nice, very pink. Brat rather claims an ostentatious femininity and feminism.”
“Very demure”: mocking the norms of femininity
“Very demure,” “very mindful,” “very cutesy”… You’ve probably read these terms on social media in the last few weeks. They were popularized by content creator Jools Lebron, who has racked up over 35 million views on her humorous TikTok video where she gives tips on discretion to apply in the workplace. Going to a job interview looking like Marge Simpson? “Not demure,” she says in her video.
“She makes fun of the way femininity is performed a little bit,” explains Vanessa Destiné. “She’s a trans woman, she has a blonde wig, she wears ostentatious makeup to perform her femininity, but she plays on that by saying: ‘You see I have a very classic look, very discreet, very sober.’”
The content creator and many TikTok users have applied the expression to a variety of situations, sometimes offbeat: how to be “very demure” when getting off a plane, ordering food, or getting into a pool. Even Jennifer Lopez got in on the act by showing how to drink from a bottle in a “very demure” way.
Watch Jennifer Lopez’s video (in English)
Being “clean” or “discreet” is what is expected of girls and women, reminds Chris Bergeron. By opposing this model, we are “thumbing our noses at a certain conservatism,” she explains.
But the trend is also being diverted from its sarcastic side. “Expressions like ‘very demure’, when taken literally, can contribute to fueling this discourse according to which women should fade into the background of society, should take up as little space as possible,” believes Vanessa Destiné. She worries that this will lead to a backlash against “liberated female and feminist speech,” as we saw with “brat summer.”
The Democratic camp embraces both tendencies
“kamala IS brat”, it was with a simple tweet that Charli XCX expressed her support for the Democratic candidate for the American presidential election, Kamala Harris. Her campaign team surfed on this by putting neon green backgrounds and songs of the singer as soundtracks for their videos on social networks.
“The criticism that is made of Kamala Harris and many women at the moment is that they are too frivolous, too funny; this allows this frivolity to be transformed into a weapon,” believes Chris Bergeron.
The White House jumped on the “very demure” bandwagon by posting a photo of a smiling Joe Biden with the caption, “Cancelling student debt for nearly five million Americans through a variety of actions.” Very mindful. Very demure. »
Kamala Harris has also been called “very demure” by internet users – in comparison to Donald Trump, notably in a video which has accumulated 10 million views.