Mewing Face Meme EXPLAINED: Why Everyone Online Is Clenching Their Jawlines (and Their Humor)
The internet has always loved a good face—especially one that promises to make you more attractive, more symmetrical, or just… more memeable. Enter the mewing face meme. What started as a legitimate jawline-enhancement technique turned into a viral punchline across platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter).
Whether you’re seeing painfully exaggerated chiseled jawlines, dudes awkwardly staring into the mirror trying to “mew harder,” or side-by-side transformations that look more Photoshop than physiology—chances are, you’ve already scrolled past the mewing face meme without realizing it.
So what is this meme really about? How did it take over the internet? Let’s break it down—jawline first.
What Is the Mewing Face Meme?
At its core, the mewing face meme is a satirical take on the real-life facial restructuring technique called mewing. Coined by British orthodontist Dr. John Mew, mewing involves proper tongue posture—placing your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth—to supposedly sharpen your jawline and improve facial structure over time.
What Is the origin of the meme?
The mewing face meme began with Dr. Mike Mew, who introduced the tongue posture technique in 2014 to improve facial structure.
Dr. Mike Mew’s first major presentation on orthotropics appeared on the 21 Studios YouTube channel on March 19, 2014, where he compared orthotropics with traditional orthodontics.
The video quickly circulated on the RedPillTalk Forums (formerly known as S***hate), prompting strong reactions and discussions.
In response to the online buzz, Mew uploaded a follow-up video on June 17, 2014. Later, in October 2014, a user posted again on the forum asking for updates, but Mew never replied—leaving the conversation open and fueling further speculation from the online community.
How the Mewing Face Meme Took Over the Internet
It wasn’t until April 13, 2018 that the concept truly began to go viral, when YouTuber Astro Sky uploaded a video titled “Why Mewing Is Important To All!” showcasing what he claimed to be a dramatic jawline transformation.
Later that year, on September 22, the official Orthotropics YouTube channel released “Doing Mewing”, a detailed tutorial with Dr. Mew demonstrating proper form.
The momentum continued with a video by Judy Neptune, titled “How I Changed My Facial Bone Structure by Mewing”, published on December 19, 2018, which garnered over 134,000 views before being removed.
Astro Sky returned on January 19, 2019 with “Mewing For Beginners,” aimed at those new to the trend.
In the following month, mewing entered mainstream news when Coventry Live mentioned it on February 19, 2019, and Brett Maverick, a popular lifestyle YouTuber, covered it in a now-popular video posted on February 22.
By 2024, mewing had become a viral phenomenon among teenagers and school students, especially on TikTok. One widely circulated video by @mr_lindsay_sped, a schoolteacher, showed students using the mewing pose as an excuse to avoid participating in class, claiming their silence was due to “mewing.”
@mr_lindsay_sped Replying to @Ohmygoodness Don’t let them hit you with the 🤫🤫🤫! 😂 This one is called #mewing and thisnis what it is! #genalpha #slang #genz #middleschoolslang #teach #teachersoftiktok #teacherfyp #highschoolteacher #middleschoolteacher #mewing
Around the same time, @teresakayenewman, a 36-year-old teacher from Texas, uploaded a viral video criticizing the trend. She described the gesture as smug, rude, and even disruptive to the learning environment, stating that it might be the final straw pushing her to leave teaching.
@teresakayenewman What is the “mewing” gesture, why are students mewing their teachers, and why is it harmful and disruptive to the learning environment? #teacher
Her video received massive attention and was later featured in a BuzzFeed article written by Dannica Ramirez, which noted that some critics viewed the gesture as offensive to the Deaf community due to its visual similarity to American Sign Language signs.
Meanwhile, TikTok creator @beaelegantboy1 added to the trend with a “Mewing Tutorial” that nearly hit 200,000 views, blending the practice with #glowup aesthetics and AI facial rating filters.
@beaelegantboy1 Mewing Tutorial ⚜️ App used for rating – TrueRateMe AI ✨🦅 #fyp #jawline #glowup #glowuptips #mewing #mewingtutorial #foryoupage #gotoforyou #elegantboy✨🦅
Reddit communities also played a big role in the trend’s growth. On r/orthotropics, user u/helmutstrebl shared before-and-after photos documenting one year of mewing progress from age 21 to 22.
Source: helmutstrebl
The post was met with praise from others in the subreddit, particularly because the results looked realistic rather than exaggerated. As one top comment said, “These are the types of pictures this sub needs more of.”
Trending Mewing Meme Compilation
Here are some of the most viral and hilarious forms the mewing face meme has taken online:
Mewing vs. Conventional Methods
Side-by-side illustrations of someone mewing versus someone using expensive cosmetic procedures. These memes poke fun at the idea that tongue posture alone can replace surgery or braces. Usually paired with TikTok filters and sarcastic music.
Source: Ungula
“I Ain’t No GigaChad”
A classic puffin walking meme format used to express controversial opinions—this one joking that mewing doesn’t magically turn you into a chiseled alpha male. Irony is heavy, but the jawlines are heavier.
Source: 2MASS
Squidward’s Mewing Transformation
A progression image showing regular Squidward slowly morphing into Handsome Squidward after “months of mewing.” A perfect example of how memes lean into absurd exaggeration to mock self-image obsessions.
Source: Reddit User
Jotaro Kujo Before and After
Featuring characters from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, this meme format shows a character’s sharp jawline glow-up attributed to mewing. Often captioned with dramatic anime music for full effect.
Source: BoraHcn
Generational Struggles
A confused cartoon figure overloaded with modern internet slang and Gen Alpha trends—mewing included. These memes highlight how fast TikTok-born trends become cultural noise, especially for older millennials and teachers.
Source: Abatirabadai
Why It Resonates (and Why It’s Funny)
The mewing face meme taps into a few cultural pressure points:
- Body image and beauty standards—especially among young men, who face increasing expectations for ultra-defined features.
- The obsession with self-improvement—where every little hack is treated like a golden key to becoming the “ideal version” of yourself.
- Internet irony culture—where the line between sincere effort and total parody blurs on purpose.
When you scroll past a dude intensely mewing in his front camera with Gregorian chant music in the background, you’re not just laughing at the meme—you’re witnessing a cultural moment shaped by vanity, vulnerability, and a touch of absurdity.
Final Thoughts
At Grumpy Sharks, we love memes that blur the line between self-help and self-parody. The mewing face meme does exactly that—mocking beauty culture while also engaging with it in strangely earnest ways.
Will mewing actually change your face? Maybe. But it already changed the meme game—and in the world of internet culture, that’s a more impressive transformation.
