LGBTQ Community Reacts to Kamala Harris' Candidacy with Viral Memes and Campy T-Shirts

 

Less than 24 hours after Vice President Kamala Harris announced her presidential bid following Joe Biden’s exit from the race, the queer community took to the internet with a wave of playful videos and memes about her candidacy.

A supercut of Harris laughing, set to Charli XCX’s song from the album “Brat,” quickly went viral, amassing over 1.3 million views. Almost immediately, photos emerged of men on Fire Island Pines, a popular queer-friendly beach on New York’s Long Island, sporting cropped T-shirts in a “brat” lime green, matching Charli XCX’s album cover, with “Kamala” emblazoned in the same font.

“BRAT Kamala shirts already on Fire Island. The gays move SO FAST,” one user tweeted.

LGBTQ supporters expressed their enthusiasm through memes and videos, with many campy and queer-coded posts referring to Harris as “mother.”

“BIDEN IS OUT!” one person posted on X. “MOTHER KAMALA... IT’S YOUR TIME.”

Another user shared, “knee deep in the passenger’s seat and biden dropped out is it kamala now?” using lyrics from queer pop icon Chappell Roan’s song “Casual.”

A TikTok user compared Harris to Bette Porter from “The L Word,” a character known for her power lesbian persona and impressive pantsuit collection.

“Bette Porter walked so Madam President Kamala Harris could runnnn,” the TikTok post read.

Some connected a speech by Harris mentioning coconuts to trans pop artist Kim Petras’ song “Coconuts,” making the coconut emoji a symbol of support for Harris.

“All aboard the coconut express!!!” one person tweeted alongside a video of Harris set to RuPaul’s song “Call Me Mother.”

Support for Harris’ candidacy also extended to LGBTQ rights organizations. The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S., highlighted her efforts as California Attorney General to end the so-called gay/trans panic defense, which had allowed those accused of homicide to receive lighter sentences by claiming they panicked upon discovering a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Harris has also received endorsements from 10 of the 12 openly LGBTQ members of Congress, including Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Laphonza Butler of California, and Representatives Angie Craig of Minnesota, Ritchie Torres of New York, Becca Balint of Vermont, and Mark Takano of California.

However, Harris’ support has not been without criticism. Some LGBTQ advocates have raised concerns over her stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. “Kamala, you will have our votes when you end U.S. support of genocide in Gaza. Simple as that,” drag performer and activist Pattie Gonia wrote on Instagram.

Additionally, her tenure as California Attorney General faced scrutiny for her role in blocking a trans woman from receiving gender-affirming surgery in prison in 2015. When questioned about this case at an LGBTQ presidential forum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2019, Harris mentioned she worked behind the scenes to change the California Department of Corrections’ policy on trans inmate care, as reported by The Advocate.

“I commit to you that always in these systems there are going to be these things that these agencies do. And I will commit myself, as I always have, to dealing with it,” Harris said at the forum.