“I don’t come to work with a green cut crease. I don’t look like a clown when I go to work. I don’t do too much. I’m very mindful while I’m at work. You see how I look very presentable?” Lebron jokingly says in a voice that reminds you of an office receptionist. As of Tuesday morning, Lebron has 1.2 million TikTok followers and millions of views on her demure videos.
This has led to a flurry of videos of people using the terms “demure,” “mindful” and “cutesy” on TikTok, Facebook and Reddit, as well as on podcasts. The trend involves satirical videos demonstrating exaggerated ways viewers can behave in a “demure” and “mindful” way in various situations. It’s meant to be funny, helpful, demure, mindful. People such as WNBA star Angel Reese and brands such as Sephora have hopped on the trend. There have even been political meme-type videos showing Vice President Kamala Harris appearing “demure” and Donald Trump not being “demure.”
Where did ‘demure’ and ‘be mindful’ originate?
The “demure” trend received significant attention primarily because of Lebron’s TikTok videos. She uploaded her first “very demure” video, about how to be demure at work, on August 2.
“See how I come to work? ... I do my makeup. I lay my wig. I do a little braid. I flat iron my hair. … Very demure, very mindful.” The 17-second video has garnered more than three million views. Since then, Lebron has been posting videos of how to act “demure” in different scenarios, such as when applying deodorant or getting your nails done, as well as how to keep your hair at a demure length. United Airlines commented on a vacation video, “The art of demure travel.”
Over the weekend, Lebron visited Las Vegas, and, instead of vlogging the trip like other influencers, she amped up the demure content. Videos included how to leave Cirque du Soleil in a demure way, how to go to the Las Vegas Strip in a demure way and how to be demure at a drag show.
“I don’t do a water bottle with vodka and a side of lemonade. ... I do a very nice drink. I’m very cutesy with it,” Lebron said in a video holding up a water bottle and what appears to be lemonade at the casino.
In her final Vegas video, “How to thank the hotel staff when you leave the hotel in a demure way,” Lebron shows herself giving half a dozen doughnuts to the front desk staff. “I’m not like these other girls. I don’t leave my room a disaster. I’m very mindful and very demure when I leave the hotel.”
Another creator, Selyna, claimed in a since-deleted video that she originated the demure trend in May 2022. In one of her videos, she says, “I’m very petite, very demure” while eating a salad. Some TikTok users commented that the videos are different because Lebron is plus-size and Selyna is smaller, and Lebron’s videos are ironic and funny.
On Sunday, Lebron responded to Selyna. In “How to respond to drama in a demure way,” she said: “Let’s be mindful of who we are before someone feeds drama to us. Let’s be mindful of the journeys that we’re building and the paths that we’re setting for ourselves. Let’s be demure, divas.”
Who is participating in the demure trend?
People across generations and genres across the internet are participating, including book influencers, teachers and nurses. Many trends are geared only toward Gen Z or millennials.
Dentist Shelly Taylor made a demure video to teach people how to properly brush their teeth. “Ladies, when you wake up, be mindful of your dental health. ... You don’t want to be too rough on your teeth and gums. … Use just enough toothpaste. ... Remember, be demure. We don’t need to use too much.”
Manny MUA, a YouTuber and makeup artist with 4.8 million YouTube subscribers and 1.8 million TikTok followers, was filming himself when a 4.4-magnitude earthquake hit the Los Angeles area on Monday.
“You see how you handled that earthquake. Very demure. Very mindful. Very cutesy,” one comment with more than 17,000 likes said.
Is the demure trend funny or serious?
The majority of people are using the sound or re-creating the trend in funny ways, but others are using it to draw attention to more important issues.
Kelton Allen, a Black TikToker, posted a voting rights video Monday. “Y’all know how I’m a registered voter? That’s very cutesy, very demure, very intelligent. … We’re mindful of the fact that there are people who want to take away our rights to vote. So in this upcoming election, we’re going to vote and be mindful of the impact that we can have on America. … Very mindful, very demure.”
Some videos have highlighted mental health. One person posted a video taking medication, saying, “See how I take my antidepressants every day? Very demure, very mindful. So I don’t fall into a manic episode, depressive episode. Be mindful of why your doctor prescribed you an antidepressant.”
Another person made a video saying Lebron’s videos have helped her. “I didn’t order Wingstop, and I made this smoothie instead. You know, because I’m demure and mindful. … It’s just crazy thinking how there’s like hundreds of fitness influencers, but this is what actually got to me.”
But overall, the majority of videos are humorous in nature.
Sephora employees have shown customers how to be demure in their store. “Be mindful on why we use the [makeup] testers. Very cutesy, very demure.”
Sororities on #rushtok have gotten involved, and several Olympic memes have been created to highlight “demure” athletes.
Others have taken the trend to update people on their lives. “See how I got my appendix taken out? Very demure,” one Facebook user wrote on their profile. “How I’m resting to physically heal? Very mindful.”
How is the trend different?
Although “demure” typically is defined as modesty or being reserved, this trend falls opposite of the tradwives or “clean girl” aesthetic.
It makes fun of trying to be put together all the time. Some videos include how to be mindful when doing the walk of shame after leaving a hookup, and how to be mindful when eating pizza.
As many people have proclaimed, demure fall is here!
