“Demure” Content Creator To Complete Gender Transition, Says “TikTok Has Changed My Life”
Written by djfrosty on August 19, 2024
Source: @joolieanniemarie / Instagram
Social Media has the power to shift culture in just an instant. The latest example is the way that TikTok creator Jools Lebron catapulted the word “demure” into the online collective consciousness.
Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, created several videos where she talked about how she presents herself at work as “very demure, very mindful.” The initial video garnered more than 10 million views in the first week. Lebron went on to make more videos using the buzzword and how to achieve these qualities.
She recently told US Weekly that she was motivated to create the videos because there’s been a “lack of empathy and regard for people’s feelings” as well as how they “represent themselves” on social media.
The viral trend has done more than just make Lebron’s catchphrases a household name. According to Variety, she now has made enough money to complete her gender transition.
“One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now I’m flying across countries to host events, and I’m gonna be able to finance the rest of my transition,” she said n a recent online post.
The trend jumped from TikTok to X (formerly Twitter) with millions making posts about being “demure.” Further, copycat videos from celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez made the trend explode even further.
“I grew up an influencer kid, like, I watched all YouTube and all kinds of stuff like that,” Lebron told US Weekly. “Seeing them do the trend, and just welcome in someone that has loved them, and follow me back and show me my flowers has been everything.”
The trend even made it to The White House.
“When I did start making TikToks, I found more girls like me. I found girls who are plus size who are trans, who are having the same experiences that come uniquely with that set of combinations,” she told CBS News.
Lebron said that she does receive some negative comments on her videos, saying, “I think that people get in survival mode and they forget how they’re also being perceived when they leave a nasty comment or when they’re being rude or whatever,” she noted. “Let’s be demure. Let’s be mindful of why we came. Let’s be mindful because we didn’t come to just be mean girls.”
She continued, “We didn’t come to be messy and this applies to everything: your appearance, your mindset. Be mindful of what you think. Be mindful of your actions, and be demure, modest and reserved. That doesn’t mean a race, a color, an ethnicity, a finance. ‘Demurity’ is being the most thoughtful, mindful version of yourself.”