What to know about the ‘modest’ trend on TikTok

See how am I starting this article by explaining a trend that you don’t know about? It’s me being attentive. See how I’m writing a simple introduction so you can understand what I’m writing about? That’s modest.

In less than a week, the Internet has been flooded with videos – predominantly of trans women – that remind anyone who comes across their content to move with grace and act “modest.” One of the most popular creators who helped launch the trend is an influencer named Jools Lebron, who uploaded a video on August 2 in which he shared a tip on how to get rid of the white mustache that can result from mixing makeup and sweat. . At the end of the video, without a mustache, she adds: “Very modest.”

After his initial video, Lebron posted another one in which he is promoting a fragrance. The text of the video says, “How to be modest at work,” and she gives advice on how to be modest and attentive in the workplace. Her video quickly gained over 3 million views, and she soon began sharing multiple videos in the same style, which routinely received millions more views. In one of them she shows how demurely she takes her identity from the gay bar where she left after a night out. “Very modest, very attentive. I don’t come to the bar and drink. I come, get my ID and leave.” In another, she demonstrates how to queue to board a plane: “I’m in no rush. I take my place. I don’t meddle.

The idea of ​​modesty, as Lebron explains, is a state of mind – and one that, curiously enough, comes after a decidedly “bratish” summer that promoted anything but modest behavior. The official definition of the word is reserved, modest, and respectful. Lebron also made a video in which she says it’s modest to pay tribute to those who came before you — famous ballroom stars like Venus Xtravaganza, a transgender artist featured in the influential documentary Paris is on fire– while preparing a path for those who come after. But since her videos took off, the word has taken on a life of its own, with people making satirical videos about eating a hoagie or donut in a “modest” way and joking about what does and doesn’t qualify as modest.

Lebron isn’t the only creator reminding the internet to be modest and unpretentious. A creator named Devin Halbal (also known by the username @hal.baddie) uploaded a video that also went viral. In the video, which has since received over 2 million views, Halbal tells his followers that they “need to be modest” because they “don’t know how to keep it modest for at least five minutes and then you’re shocked when shit hits the fan. In his video, Lebron left a message of fraternal solidarity that says: “Very modest, very attentive, very respectful.”

Although Lebron’s videos on the subject appear to be the first to become extremely popular, other creators have argued that they popularized the trend. A creator with the username @mayalabruja uploaded a video talking about another creator, @selyna.brillare, who claimed to have started the deleted video trend.

Some said Halbal initiated the takeover “demurely,” but in a comment on a recent video in which she responded to the drama (aptly titled “How to Respond to Drama Demurely”) Lebron said it’s nothing but good vibes between her and Halbal. “Devin reached out and gave me nothing but love, he was careful,” the comment reads.

In any case, this drama will not stop these women from sharing their desires for a more modest society. After all, the drama isn’t very modest, is it? Not very careful.