We needed a Femininomenon: Summer 2024 Delivered

by Megan Jenkins

Brat. H-O-T-T-O-G-O. The mere existence of Reneé Rapp. A few months ago, all these things would have been appreciated in the overtly queer spaces of Twitter or Tumblr like the days of old, but a recent shift has seen them flood the mainstream with songs about girls kissing girls and pulsing hyper pop tracks that rival even the most experienced DJs of Ibiza.  

2024 has seen a monumental shift in the way we consume queer media. It’s no longer something that’s kept to one corner of the internet – instead, we get to see Regina George be played by out and proud lesbian Reneé Rapp on the silver screen. It may not seem that big of a deal to anyone outside of the community but seeing one of the most iconic characters of the 2000s be played by a self-confessed theatre kid and girl-lover is a shift in just how successful the members of our community can be without being stereotyped. And who are we to disagree with Rapp when she says that Regina George is a lesbian?

On the other end of Rapp’s career and repertoire, her Coachella set earlier this year was the stuff of legend and quickly signaled the start of an incredible summer for the community. After being introduced onto stage by legends of lesbian culture and cast and creator of The L Word Jennifer Beals, Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey, and Ilene Chaiken, she performed the remainder of her set in front of two giant pairs of scissors that were, well, scissoring. It seems like a silly fun joke and piece of set design to many, but it was oddly affirming to see someone so comfortable in their skin and willing to display it so clearly on one of the biggest stages in music.  

Everybody's favourite Midwest Princess Chappell Roan has seen a meteoric rise into the painfully mainstream realm, with songs on the Billboard Hot 100, a top 10 album, and a following that seems to have exploded almost overnight. Her mainstream success is well deserved, after years of hard work and label mishaps she is finally writing what she wants and getting her flowers for it. Her latest single ‘Good Luck Babe’ is proving to be an educating tool for people outside the community. Listeners who aren’t LGQBTQIA+ are learning the definition of compulsory heterosexuality because of a powerful, heart wrenching bridge and an emotive performance on The Tonight Show. Somehow it is still almost unheard of to have these topics discussed on primetime television, yet Roan was more than happy to do so adorned with white feathers and the longest nails you will see in a long time.  

As with most things these days, Tik Tok has helped massively in the success of queer artists like Roan and our culture over the last year or so. Without it, there is no doubt that the vast majority would have the faintest idea what a Red Wine Supernova is. Now, there are crowds of thousands at festivals and venues all over the country adorned with bright pink cowboy hats and outfits, desperate to join the Pink Pony Club. Roan’s Lollapalooza slot this summer was upgraded due to phenomenal demand and pulled what the festival’s organizers have said is its “biggest daytime crowd ever”. All these things have culminated in scoring Roan her first number one album in the UK, nearly a full year after the initial release of ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’.  

Elsewhere in the charts and dominating the internet there is a lime green shade looming in the form of Charli XCX’s ‘brat’. Everyone under the age of 30 has most likely used or heard the term ‘brat summer’, sometimes without realizing what it really means, or seen the Tik Tok dance to ‘apple’. ‘Brat summer’ revolves around hedonism and how it can make you happy, so it’s no surprise that the masses have adopted the mentality and aesthetic. Brat is defined by chaos and needing nothing but a bic lighter and a pack of cigs to keep you happy – it’s a far cry from the ‘clean’ aesthetics that have trended over past summers and is a welcome breath of fresh air (with a hint of cigarette smoke).  

Everywhere you look on social media, charities, brands, and public figures alike have adopted the ‘brat’ aesthetic, changing their logos and social media branding to the same low-res lime green artwork. Being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community is an inherently political act by default, so it feels natural that politicians like Kamala Harris are adopting the culture in the simplest of ways and changing the Kamala HQ Twitter header to their own version of the ‘brat’ album cover. It shouldn’t feel like a massive deal, but she is showing her support for a community that often feels cast aside or villainized in the political landscape. It’s an effortless act, yet a powerful one that many should learn to follow.