What does ‘demure’ mean on TikTok?

Brat Summer is so over, and Demure Autumn is so in. The summer of 2024 has been all about Charli XCX, being a 365 party girl, being messy, sleeping until noon, and doing whatever you want. But after leaving the destruction of Brat Summer in our wake, it’s time to make a 180 degree recovery.

Thanks to @JoolieAnnie AKA Jools Lebron on TikTok, we now know what our aesthetic will be leading into the Fall. It’s all about being demure, mindful, and cutesy.

In Jools’ first video about her demurity, she showed off her makeup, commenting on how demure she was by not doing too much with her makeup for work; no green cut crease, nothing crazy, like some other girls. She talks about being very mindful of how she presents herself going to work, how she’s mindful of why she was hired for her job, and how she presented herself going into her interview versus how she shows up every day. It’s very cutesy. Very respectable.

She does simple makeup and dresses in a shirt with only a little chichi, and no chocho.

Being demure is all about not doing too much, dressing for the occasion, having balance, and not trying to outshine or upstage when it’s not appropriate. What started as a joke, has now taken the internet by storm.

Jools has since been posting videos applying the sensibilities of being demure and being mindful for the rest of her life. Whether that be grabbing a meal after work, buying hangover snacks on the Vegas strip, or getting her nails done, Joolie lets the internet know that everything she does can be considered demure and mindful.

In many cases, she’s joking. A lot of her videos contradict each other, because she’s making a joke by applying the traditional feminine expectation to be demure to everything in her life. By doing so, she’s pointing out the irony of that expectation, because women are in fact complex and multifaceted. Not just demure and cutesy.

But even Vice President Kamala Harris has switched from being Brat to being very demure and mindful. Harris’s campaign posted a video to the sound from one of Joolie’s videos, demonstrating how not so demure and mindful Trump and his Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance are on the campaign trail.

People all over the internet are equating all of their daily activities to being demure, mindful, and cutesy. Suddenly eating a sub sandwich is very demure. Playing Clue is very cutesy. Doing a walk of shame is very mindful.

It can honestly apply to anything, but at its core being demure and mindful is about being appropriate, true to yourself, and considerate of other people.

Unfortunately for Jools, before she could get ahold of a trademark for her signature saying, TMZ reported that someone named Jefferson Bates in Washington filed for the trademark “very demure, very mindful,” before she could. She posted an emotional video, upset that someone else had taken it before she could even apply for a trademark. This could very well be Jools under her government name, but people think it’s unlikely, and now the internet is outraged that someone is attempting to claim the viral phrase for themselves.

There are a couple of reasons why people don’t think this is Jools’ work. First, she resides in Chicago, not Washington State. Second, the trademark was filed with a Nevada area code, not an Illinois one.

The person who filed wants to use “demure and mindful” for advertising and marketing services. People all over TikTok have given Jools advice on what to do next, and how to stop her intellectual property from being stolen.

Bunny Hedeya, a lifestyle and fashion creator, advised Jools to file a counter trademark application right now to hopefully claim her signature phrase for advertising, marketing, or merchandising before anyone else’s can go through. Hedeya had her own issues filing a trademark, and she understands how difficult it can be to fight for your property.

One creator was so upset that she went ahead and trademarked “very demure, very cutesy” before anyone else could, and offered to transfer it over to Jools, free of charge.

Fear not though, demure divas, Jools posted an update thanking everyone for their support and advice, and letting them know that thanks to their support, she has a team handling the whole situation. She said she felt like she owed everyone an update. She said that it’s getting handled, and to keep an eye out for what’s coming next. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing something very demure, very mindful, and very new from Jools very soon.