He went from the old school to the Mew school.
Have TikTok’s scientifically dubious tendencies apparently infected our education system? A Texas school teacher has redefined ‘jaw drop’ after allegedly teaching a lesson on ‘mewing’ – a controversial method of reshaping the jawline through facial posture, as seen in TikTok videos with over 10 million views.
“Did my teacher do a lesson on ‘mewing’?” reads the self-referential caption of the clip, which was posted by Christian Shearhod, a math teacher in the Garland Independent School District near Dallas, according to his LinkedIn page.
The educator has also become a fixture on TikTok, where he regularly uploads humorous videos about his work and family life to his more than 1.1 million followers.
In a recent clip, Shearhod is seen lecturing students on mewing, a face-based hack to help the weaklings among us develop a stronger, more Clark Kent-esque jawline.
This “facial reconstruction technique” specifically involves “holding your tongue to the roof of your mouth to change the shape of your jaw.” per Health.com.
Mewing was first popularized by British orthodontist Dr. John Mew in the 70s become an attachment on TikTok and YouTube with the help of his son and fellow orthodontist, Mike Mew.
Accompanying footage shows Shearhod meowing in class, as well as gesturing to diagrams depicting the mandible manipulation method, which refers to the face’s version of him sucking his stomach fat to “get abs.”
It is not yet clear if the video was serious or if he hit it off like many of his previous clips.
Unfortunately, the scholarship behind this supposed face-saving measure is dubious at best.
Mew’s logic is that human jaws shrink, and therefore change shape, due to environmental and lifestyle factors such as eating soft foods and mouth breathing – as opposed to simply genetics, which is the prevailing theory in orthodontics.
Proponents claim that meowing can help the jawline return to a square shape, making it appear larger, stronger and more aligned.
By practicing this face bend, patients negate the need for lengthy and expensive orthodontic procedures, according to the Mew-backed London School of Facial Orthotropics.
Doing so will ultimately help people achieve their “natural full genetic potential,” Mike Mew said in a recent clip with over 3 million views.
However, experts argue that the technique has no scientific basis except for Dr. John Mew, who had his dental license revoked in 2017.
Maybe they subscribe to the school of thought that holding a silly face for too long will make your face freeze like that.
In general, health experts advise against attempting to change your jawline without professional guidance and supervision.
