The viral “very mindful, very demure” TikTok trend has taken the internet by storm. Its original creator, Jools Lebron, saw overnight success and became the latest TV sensation.
On August 2, Lebron made the video describing how she remains “demure” and “mindful” of her dressing and explaining her clothing and makeup sense, which helps her during her day job.
The video went viral and got more than 10 million views within one week, which pushed Lebron to use further her powerful words like “demure,” “mindful,” “respectful,” and “cutesy.” She kicked off an internet trend with a series of videos as thousands of creators started using these words in their own content. They tried to fit the phrase “very mindful, very demure” into their online conversations, with many remixes, parodies, and memes also coming out of the viral trend.
In one of her earlier videos, Lebron told her audience that most girls try to look like Marge Simpson and Patty and Selma during their interviews and jobs and not try to be “demure.”
She also gave multiple other dressings advice to women, something that has not sat well with many critics who also jumped into the ongoing discussions to talk about what they claim is a misogynistic trend.
Critics argue that many women are discounting their own power by promoting words like “demure,” which means “reserved,” and “modest,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
According to naysayers, the world is obsessed with tradwives culture at a time when reproductive rights are at a historically low, girls are being stabbed in the UK, and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is getting canceled due to terror alerts.
TikToker Sabrina Thulander noted that she also perceived the word demure as negative as it gives the perception of a man dictating his wife.
Some critics also suggested that HR departments would have already imposed dress restrictions on women inspired by this “demure” culture, adding that this will reverse the gains of Brad Summer, where women were finally perceived not as objects to see but as voices to hear.
Lebron has dismissed these allegations, claiming that it is “obviously a joke” and that she does not want to promote a traditional lifestyle for women.
Author Gershom Mabaquiao also believes that the basic purpose of the catchy phrase was to emphasize not to take dressing too seriously, but many people have taken it in a “very literal way.”
Mabaquiao added that the joke has spread across the internet and has lost its crispness as many people are unable to get its true essence.
The trend has inspired fashion designers as well, with people like Ambika Dhir stating that being demure in your dressing comes with well-crafted clothes, which is helpful to have a powerful personality without being too shouty.
NASA has also jumped in the trend, posting that Earth looks like “very demure, very mindful” from space and “cutesy” in the solar system.
