Sherry Ning

Sherry Ning

Brat

Seriously, I'm kidding

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Sherry Ning
Sep 18, 2024
∙ Paid

It’s not just a Twitter handle. Brat is a lifestyle.

Like my writing? Consider buying me one overpriced cappuccino per month ($8):

Girl, so confusing

Brat is female advantage. It’s pouting your lips until he goes, “Don’t make that face,” and curling the corners of that pout upwards when hesitation turns into submission.

Brat is asking for forgiveness instead of permission, because red lip gloss and watery eyes will get a “ok, go ahead—but just this time” out of any grumpy, middle-aged parking enforcement officer.

Attention-seeking? Me? Of course. Lee Edelman called it the “fascist face of a baby”, the way drawing attention to ourselves is our earliest talent. Brat is made to be looked at.

Vera Atkins, the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny, was a top officer in the Special Operations Executive during WWII. She said:

I’ve always found personally that being a woman has great advantages if you know how to play the thing right and I believe that all the girls, the women who went out, …

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