United Airlines shows customers how to be ‘very demure’ boarding planes, the White House says Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness is ‘very mindful’ and Hello Kitty wished fans a ‘cutesy’ week
Are you demure? Mindful? Cutesy? How about your favorite brand or public figure?
The internet’s newest buzzword has permeated every corner of the digital landscape since the beginning of August, something you may have noticed if you’ve spent any amount of time on social media in recent weeks.
TikTok personality Jools Lebron sparked the trend with a single, now hyper-viral TikTok video that had 36 million views and counting as of Tuesday.
“You see how I do my makeup at work? Very demure, very mindful,” Lebron says in the video. “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. See how I look very presentable? The way that I came to the interview is the way I go to the job.”
What exactly does that mean? According to Merriam-Webster, “demure” means affectedly modest, reserved, or serious, even coy. Oxford says it’s usually a term used to refer to reserved, modest, and shy women or clothing that gives a modest appearance.
As far as the internet is concerned? It’s an attitude, an aura, a lifestyle. Lebron, who is a trans woman, previously clarified that she wasn’t the first to use the term in popular internet culture, saying it is often used playfully in the transgender community online.
But her use of it is what sparked the internet firestorm that has taken over popular vernacular. Since posting the original video on Aug. 8, followed by videos describing more instances in which viewers may act more “demure,” Lebron has been tapped to partner with brands from makeup to drink companies, even appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” alongside RuPaul.
And, like any colloquialism popularized by an internet trend, celebs, brands and even the the president himself have begun to cash in on the sensation.
From the doughnuts to NASA, brands cash in on “demure”
You’d likely expect fashion and beauty brands to hop at the chance to include a phrase typically associated with these industries in advertising − but what about airlines, doughnuts and even NASA?
United Airlines used audio from a follow-up video in which Lebron describes how to behave on a plane, saying, “See how I line up for the plane? Very demure, I don’t rush, I take my spot, I don’t intrude,” it says. The airline paired the sound with a video of a woman preparing to board a United flight.
Perhaps more impressively, the White House itself decided to hop on the trend, posting a picture of a smiling Joe Biden to Instagram with the caption “Cancelling the student debt of nearly 5 million Americans through various actions. Very mindful. Very demure.”
It doesn’t stop there. The drink brand Synergy had Lebron come on scene to film promotions for them, alongside other brands like KVD Beauty and Verzon that tapped her as a brand partner or rep.
Big-time celebs likewise hopped on the trend to promote their own businesses. J-Lo posted to Instagram promoting her beverage line Delola, explaining how she enjoys her drinks in a “demure” way accompanied by the caption “very demure….very mindful.”
Kim Kardashian also shared images from a recent shoot to promote her Skims line, again using the phrase in the caption. “See how I take my bts pictures….very cutsie, very mindful, very demure,” it says.
Perhaps a bit more unexpected? Dunkin labeled its classic glazed doughnut as “demure” and “mindful,” while Hello Kitty simply wished her fans a “demure, mindful and cutesy” week.
Maybe the most interesting use of the trend? NASA sharing images of Saturn’s rings, which it called: “Very demure. Very cutesy. Very mindful.” Who knew planets were interested in keeping up with the latest trends?
It may have become abundantly clear at this point − if you’re spending any time online, it’s going to be hard to ignore the internet’s desire to be very demure, very mindful, very cutesy.
