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 on TikTok, we now know what our aesthetic will be leading into the Fall. It’s all about being demure, mindful, and cutesy.

In her 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. 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.

Joolie 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.