The great and the good have been jumping on the viral “demure” trend on TikTok in recent weeks, but where did the meme come from?
Last week, Wednesday star Jenna Ortega brought the trend to a mainstream setting when she recreated the original video while on the set of her new film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with co-star Justin Theroux.
She is just one of tens of thousands to have joined in with the craze over the last month, and the whole sensation can be traced back to one particular influencer and her choices of words.
Jenna Ortega doing the “demure” trend in a new video for ‘BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE’ pic.twitter.com/TIVJCCtqto
— Complex Pop Culture (@ComplexPop) August 15, 2024
Where did the ‘demure’ trend come from?
The trend began with TikTok user and content creator Jools Lebron, who began posting videos to her 1.2million followers last month about the essential qualities of staying “demure” and “mindful” in public situations.
@joolieannie
“The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job,” she said in one of the earliest posts in the trend. “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.”
“You see how I do my makeup for work?” she asks in another. “Very demure. Very mindful. I didn’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.”
@joolieannie
Lebron stresses the importance of remaining demure no matter the situation – whether at a drag show (“I don’t stand out, I let it be about them”) or at the pharmacy (“Ladies, let’s be mindful while we’re at the CVS, this is not the Met Gala”).
She reminds followers to keep the mentality even when going through some of life’s most stressful moments, such as travelling with the family, where she shows up to the airport “very early, very on time, very considerate, very demure”.
Who is Jools Lebron?
Lebron is a high-profile social media influencer who rose to prominence thanks to her makeup and beauty tutorials and ‘Get Ready With Me’ videos.
She is also known for her extensive collection of Bratz dolls, which she has been posting about since 2021, and has also posted regularly about her passion for creating wigs.
As reported by Variety, Lebron has said the overwhelming impact of her ‘demure’ videos has meant she is now able to “fly across countries to host events” and she will now be able “to finance the rest of my transition”. Lebron identifies as a transgender woman.
Who else has been jumping on the trend?
As well as Ortega, major figures such as Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lopez have been referencing the trend.
Witherspoon posted on Instagram a photo of herself on the set of The Morning Show, alongside the caption, “Season 4, very demure”.
Lopez, meanwhile, said she was “very demure” and “very mindful” as she drank from a cocktail in an Instagram post.
The post ‘Demure’ trend explained: who is Jools Lebron and how has she sparked a viral TikTok trend? appeared first on NME.
