by Lexi Inks
A few weeks ago we were “3-6-5 party girls” enjoying brat summer a la Charli XCX, but according to a ridiculously viral TikTok trend, we’re heading for a “demure” fall. TikTok creator Jools Lebron has now created an entire movement from the word with one video she posted on August 2nd. Now sitting at 5.8 million views, Lebron’s original video about being demure featured her tips for embodying the term — even heading into work.
“See how I come to work? Very demure. I do my makeup. I lay my wig. I do a little braid,” she says. “Very demure, very mindful.”
Lebron has taken the app by storm in the past two weeks, posting a slew of additional videos embracing the virality (and her “demurity,” as she calls it) everywhere from a gay bar to Las Vegas to the American mecca known as Longhorn Steakhouse. What started as a silly joke between girlies earned Lebron over 50 million views and counting — and on August 14th she posted that it even allowed her to leave her full-time job as a cashier and the ability to fund the rest of her gender-affirming transition. We love to see it.
Despite the dictionary definition of “demure” — being notably modest, reserved, or serious — the term has taken a life of its own with hundreds of thousands of TikToks inspired by Lebron’s version. Even our domestic queen, Nara Smith, posted a recent caption with a nod to it.
Plenty of creators have developed their own hilarious spin on the concept of being demure. Vitas Spehar of @underthedesknews posted a cheeky TikTok featuring clips of Kamala Harris in a sly dig at VP candidate J.D. Vance’s guyliner-esque look. Not very demure or mindful, according to the video.
TikTok star Cameron Jerrard gave Lebron her well-deserved flowers, as well, by quoting an iconic Hannah Montana song: “Life is what you make it, so let’s make it rock — and why not make it demure, at that?” We couldn’t agree more.
