If you are suddenly “very mindful” of the phrase “very demure” popping up all over your social media feed, you are not alone.
TikTok’s latest trend — sparked by a massively viral clip by beauty influencer Jools Lebron — has taken the internet by storm and transformed a former cashier from Chicago into an internet phenomenon.
Over the last few days, celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Olivia Rodrigo and Penn Badgley have all joined in the late-summer trend started by Lebron earlier this month, which turned the phrase “very demure, very mindful” into viral gold. But what exactly is the increasingly popular meme, who created the internet’s favorite new phrase, and what does she mean by it?
It all started on Aug. 2, when Lebron took to TikTok to share some tips on “how to be demure at work.”
“See how I come to work?” Lebron says to the camera, while showing off her look. “Very demure. I do my makeup, I lay my wig, I do a little braid. I flat-iron my hair,” she added in the 17-second clip that quickly picked steam on the popular social media platform.
But, as it turns out, Lebron’s first how-to-be-demure video was only a little taste of the social media glory she was about to experience.
A more detailed video with tips on “how to be demure and modest at the work place” posted two days later exploded onto timelines and cemented Lebron as pop culture’s newest viral queen.
“See how I do my makeup for work? Very demure, very mindful. I don’t do too much. I’m very mindful while I’m at work,” she said in the 38-second clip. “See how I look? Very presentable. A lot of you girls go to the interview, looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma, not demure,” Lebron added.
That second clip, which has been seen more than 35 million times, catapulted Lebron into viral superstardom and shined the internet spotlight on the word “demure” — which she defines as “a mindset.”
“I used to be crazy and out of control, and then I found ‘demurity’ and along with it came success,” Lebron told “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” guest host RuPaul on Monday. “‘Demurity’ is my purity,” she added.
When asked about her inspiration for her original TikTok post, Lebron credited the idea to her job as a cashier at a Mariano’s grocery store in Illinois.
“Well, apparently the trauma that comes with working a retail job gets enough to you that you start saying ‘demure’ on the internet,” she said.
Last week, the TikTok creator took to the platform to explain how becoming a viral sensation had changed her life.
“One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break and now, I’m flying across (the) country to host events,” she said.
Lebron, who’s transgender, added her newfound fame will allow her to “finance the rest of (her) transition.”
