Aug 19
Success of Viral 'Demure' Vid Means 'I'm Gonna be Able to Finance the Rest of My Transition,' Influencer Says
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Jools Lebron, the beauty influencer who turned "demure" into a social media buzzword with a viral post, says she will now be able to pay to complete her gender confirmation treatment.
Saying in a Tik Tok video that the platform has "changed [her] life," Lebron offered a glimpse into how transformative viral fame can be, Variety reported.
@joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound - Jools Lebron
"One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break," Lebron told her followers in a recent post, "now I'm flying across countries to host events, and I'm gonna be able to finance the rest of my transition."
In the now-famous post, Lebron told her followers about how to be "demure" in the workplace and continue to give a good impression once an interview leads to a job.
"I don't come to work with a green cut-crease," Lebron advised. "I don't look like a clown when I go to work. I don't do too much, I'm very mindful at work."
@joolieannie #fyp #demure ♬ original sound - Jools Lebron
"The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job," Lebron continued. "A lot of you girls go to the interview looking like Marge Simpson and go to the job looking like Patty and Selma."
"The 'demure' trend has swept across TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms this week," Variety recounted, "with many tracing its viral spread back to a video Lebron posted on Aug. 5 about doing makeup for the workplace in a 'demure and modest and respectful' manner."
"Lebron is known for posting makeup tutorials and generally talking about her life as a plus-sized woman to her 1.3 million followers," EDGE detailed in a previous report. "Seemingly overnight, everyone is channeling her vibe from a video that has over 10 million views."
"Having exploded in popularity along with the term, Lebron now has 1.5 million TikTok followers and nearly 100 million likes across her videos on the platform," Variety noted, and she "has continued to create content for fellow 'divas' on how to be 'demure' in other random life scenarios, like boarding a plane, thanking hotel staff or flat-ironing one's hair."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
