New York Post
He went from old school to Mew school.
Have scientifically dubious TikTok trends have apparently infected our education system? A Texas school teacher redefined “jaw-dropping” after allegedly giving a lesson on “mewing” — a controversial method of reshaping one’s jawline through facial posture, as seen in a TikTok video with over 10 million views.
“My teacher did a lesson on ‘mewing’?” reads the self-referential caption to the clip, which was posted by Christian Shearhod, a math teacher at the Garland Independent School District near Dallas, per his LinkedIn page.
The pedagogue has also become a fixture on TikTok, where he regularly uploads humorous video vignettes about his work and family life to his over 1.1 million followers.
In a recent clip, Shearhod is seen allegedly lecturing students on mewing, a face-based hack to help the weak-chinned among us develop a stronger, more Clark Kent-esque jaw.
This “facial reconstructing technique” specifically involves “keeping your tongue on the roof of your mouth to change your jawline’s shape,” per Health.com.
First popularized by British orthodontist Dr. John Mew in the 70s, mewing has since become a fixture on TikTok and YouTube with the help of his son and fellow orthodontist, Mike Mew.
Accompanying footage shows Shearhod demonstrating mewing to class, as well as gesturing to diagrams illustrating the mandibular manscaping method, which evokes the facial version of sucking in one’s stomach fat to “get abs.”
It’s yet unclear if the video was serious or done “tongue-in-cheek,” as is the case with many of his prior clips.
Unfortunately, the scholarship behind this alleged face-saving measure is dubious at best.
Mew’s logic is that human jaws are shrinking, and therefore changing shape, due to environmental and lifestyle factors such as eating soft food and mouth breathing — as opposed to simply genetics, which is the prevailing theory in orthodontics.
Proponents argue that mewing can help the jawline revert to a square shape by making it appear larger, stronger and realigned.
By practicing this facial flexion, patients negate the need for lengthy and expensive orthodontic procedures, per the Mew-backed London School of Facial Orthotropics.
Doing so will ultimately help people achieve their “natural full genetic potential,” Mike Mew declared in a recent clip with over 3 million views.
However, experts argue that the technique has no scientific basis outside Dr. John Mew, who was stripped of his dental license in 2017.
Perhaps they subscribe to the school of thought that says that holding a silly face for too long will make your face freeze like that.
In general health experts advise against trying to alter one’s jawline sans professional guidance and supervision.
This was originally published on The New York Post
