If you’re seeing a lot of talk about coconut trees and brats surrounded with bright lime green memes, it’s all about Gen Z’s embrace of Kamala Harris.
“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree,” is a phrase from a story her mother often recounted.
- This quirky phrase has also been sampled in diverse soundtracks and featured in videos by influential artists, propelling Harris into mainstream pop culture endorsement.
- Harris repeated the phrase on May 10, 2023, at a White House event for Hispanics, speaking about educational opportunity.
“My mother used to — she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris said, while laughing. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
- Harris supporters have referred to her candidacy as “Operation Coconut Tree,” said they’re “coconut-pilled” and have used the coconut emoji in social media posts or their display names on X.
- TikTok influencers have highlighted the light-hearted laughter of Kamala Harris with memes of coconut trees, dubbing her the Coconut Queen.
Brat Summer??
Pop star Charli XCX referenced her newly released album “Brat” when posting support for Harris. The post received nine million views in only four hours.
The album’s artwork is a lime green square with the word brat written in the middle in a low resolution Arial font. The Harris campaign followed quickly with setting its profile image in the Brat album style.
According to Charli:
…Brat is a concept that represents a person who might have “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra”.
It has been deemed by some pop critics as a rejection of the “clean girl” aesthetic popularised on TikTok, which spurned a groomed ideal of femininity, and instead embraces more hedonistic and rebellious attitudes.
“You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things some times,” Charli explained on social media.
“Who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”
A few months ago, President Biden sparked some backlash among young voters with the idea of banning TikTok.
What seemed like a missed opportunity for Biden to connect with young voters through TikTok became the Vice President’s opportunity to shine.