The demure TikTok meme, or Very Demure, Very Mindful is a satirical trend declaring how people should act while engaging in everyday activities. It started with TikToker Jools Lebron, who seemed to be imitating a specific type of video, perhaps referencing the recent tradwife trend, the “clean girl” aesthetic, or other content advising women to abide by traditional gender norms.
Other users repurposed the sound from the original video or made their own entries until the phrase “very demure, very mindful” was trending, along with “demuremaxxing” and “demuretsey.”
What does ‘demure’ mean?
According to Merriam-Webster, the word “demure” means “affectedly modest, reserved, or serious” and can also mean “coy” in some contexts. For the demure TikTok meme, people appear to be using it to mean modest and reserved in a quiet, hyper-feminine sense.
In the original video that sparked the trend, the TikToker speaks about how she wears makeup to work and does her hair in a traditionally feminine manner with a long, straight wig and a braid, and applies perfume.
Why is everyone using the word ‘demure’ on TikTok?
One thing about TikTok is that when the mostly young users come across a word they haven’t heard before, especially in a comical context, they tend to start repeating it over and over like a flock of trained parrots. Parrots with the ability to make TikTok videos, that is.
On August 2, 2024, user @joolieannie or Jools Lebron made one of her “makeup comedy” videos talking about how she makes herself look demure for work.
@joolieannie #fyp #demure @OAKCHA @Paul | Fragrance Influencer ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron
“See how I come to work?” she says. “Very demure. I do my makeup. I lay my wig. I do a little braid. I flat iron my hair. I do chi chis out. I do Viral Vanilla. Very demure, very mindful. Let’s not forget to be demure, divas.”
The video gained over 2.7 million views in 10 days. Another entry in the same vein, in which she repeated the line “very demure, very mindful” and used the term “modest” gained 7.6 million views.
@joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron
Demure TikTok meme spreads to Bob the Drag Queen
As the original videos went viral, the trend eventually made its way to RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bob the Drag Queen. The performer made a TikTok using the sound from Lebron’s second post about being demure at work, applying makeup with lip-syncing along. This one gained over 1.2 million views in a day.
@bobthedragqueen @Jools Lebron ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron
Meanwhile, others spread the demure TikTok meme by creating videos about being demure in everyday situations. The less it made sense to be demure in that situation—such as going to the airport or eating a sandwich—the better, turning it into a satire by rendering it almost nonsensical.
Demuremaxxing and demuretsey
It wasn’t long before the term “demuremaxxing” began to trend on the platform, following in the footsteps of similar trends. TikTokers and other meme fans often use the suffix “maxxing” to describe the action of taking a trend to the extreme. “Demuremaxxing” would then describe attempts to be as demure as possible.
“Demuretsey” combines the words “demure” and “cutesy” and refers to a related state of being that adds cuteness to the recipe. Lebron made another video explaining how to be demuretsey on August 10, netting another 1.8 million views.
@joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound – Jools Lebron
Very Demure, Very Mindful memes proliferate
Related memes:
- ‘I’m such a lucky boy’: This Michael Shannon TikTok meme is suddenly everywhere
- Now that it has a new meaning, what does ‘Bop’ mean on TikTok?
- The worst word rebrands on TikTok in 2023
- Altered audio of Kamala Harris becomes popular ‘drunk’ TikTok meme
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘Very demure, very mindful’—TikTok is Demuremaxxing. Here’s what that means appeared first on The Daily Dot.
WATCH VIDEO
DOWNLOAD VIDEO