First it was brat summer. Now social media users are forecasting we're headed into demure fall.
Being “very demure” is TikTok's latest trend, and it's all about being mindful, not doing too much and of course, being very cutesy.
The trend exploded on TikTok this month when an Aug. 2 video from creator Jools Lebron went viral, in which Lebron explained how she acted “very demure, very mindful” at work.
Lebron posted another video three days later, this time on how to be “demure and modest and respectful at the work place,” which raked in more than 17 million views and nearly 2 million likes, leading her to reach more than 1.4 million followers on TikTok.
“See how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job,” she says in the Aug. 5 TikTok. “I’m very modest, I’m very mindful.”
She’s since gone on to post dozens of videos explaining how to be demure, mindful and cutesy in any situation — from doing choreography to attending a drag show — sending social media users into a craze of “demurity.”
According to TikTok analytics, interest in posts tagged #demure has spiked since Aug. 7, with more than 27,000 videos posted with the hashtag in the past seven days in the U.S., and 78,000 videos posted with the hashtag overall.
And the term has now gone beyond TikTok; memes using the word demure have gone viral on X, with one X user declaring “demure” to be the word of the week. Their post got more than 590,000 views and more than 18,000 likes.
Celebrities and brands also quickly jumped on the trend, including Netflix, which posted a “Gilmore Girls” clip of Rory being described as “the demurest” as she ordered a club soda, as well as Lizzo, who posted a video with SZA lipsyncing to one of Lebron’s “demure” TikToks.
Here's what to know about the trend, which has led thousands of TikTokers — and beyond — on a quest to be very mindful, very cutesty and very demure.
What is ‘demure’?
At its most basic definition, demure is “affectedly modest, reserved, or serious,” according to Merriam-Webster.
But on TikTok, being demure is a play on pick-me girls, or a girl who claims she “isn’t like the other girls,” and also appears to be poking fun at the “clean girl” aesthetic.
The “clean girl” trend, also known as “vanilla girl,” is all about being effortless, and is often associated with having a natural and minimal look, journaling and meditating.
Lebron posted her first “demure” video on Aug. 2 after posting product reviews and “get ready with me” content for several years. She’s since posted dozens of examples of “demurity” in many different situations over the past few weeks.
From exiting a plane to thanking hotel staff, or more obscure events, like leaving a Cirque du Soleil show, Lebron has shown how to be demure in several situations.
“How to keep your dental care demure through mental health struggles,” she titled one video from Aug. 11, explaining how she didn’t take care of her teeth when she was depressed, but now has been taking her dental care seriously.
“Oral rinses, very expensive toothpastes, very nice toothbrush — very demure with it,” she explains.
The creator’s newfound fame has led her to attend events in New York City with makeup artist Patrick Ta, and she even “got demured,” as she put it, as she was filming a video on how to be demure in the car and was recognized by a fan through the open car window.
Lebron, who is transgender and uses she/her pronouns, addressed how her life has changed in the span of a few weeks in an Aug. 14 TikTok.
“Maybe you should make the videos,” she said. “Because one day I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now I’m flying across the country to host events, and I’m going to be able to finance the rest of my transition.”
Lebron did not respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com, but she did add a #demure hashtag in the caption of her post, because she is very cutesy and very mindful.
More than 13,000 people have posted videos using Lebron’s audio from her how to be demure at work TikToks, including “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Bob the Drag Queen.
Other social media stars have poked fun at the trend, like Campbell Puckett, better known as “Pookie,” who showed how she eats a croissant demurely, and Haley Kalil, a lifestyle influencer who explained how she blocks her ex with class.
They’re proof that anyone can stay mindful and demure in any situation. And of course, never doing too much.
