Mew and mewing
There are many definitions of mew. A mew is a small gull (Larus canus), found in Eurasia and Western North America. It is also a verb, meaning to make a high-pitched crying noise. Cats and some birds mew. A mewing cat is hard to ignore!
Trained hawks are kept in falconry mews, but a mews house is extremely desirable living accommodation converted from stables and highly sought after for those with the means. For example, mews properties in London can command prices of two million and more.
A mew sometimes describes a back street, or a place in which to hide.
There is an alternative meaning of mewing, which has nothing to do with cats, birds or houses. In the 1970s, a British orthodontist, Dr John Mew, posited the idea of proper tongue placement and facial exercises as a means of resculpting the face. It is also known as orthotropics. Basically, it requires the tongue to be pressed against the roof of the mouth and kept there.
It became popular in the early 2010s, through social media, but around 2018, vloggers brought the practice to greater notice through YouTube and other platforms like TikTok and Instagram. With the growing trend for health and beauty among younger people, and their desire to replicate the airbrushed, photoshopped celebrities they see wherever they look, there are now a multitude of apps and websites to assist them in their search for perfection.
Some of the claims are preposterous. For example, mewing might stimulate bone growth in the maxilla (upper jaw) and improve facial symmetry. Some practitioners have asserted that mewing has helped with sleep apnoea and swallowing problems. Apparently, ‘Improper swallowing may lead to skewed teeth.’
People are warned that the correct tongue placement should be maintained throughout both day and night. Visible results may not be seen for anything from months to years and may be subtle! Mewing should be conducted for at least twenty minutes a day and thirty minutes would be better.
Many claims have been made for the effectiveness of mewing exercises, but no scientific evidence has been found thus far.
The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) states, ‘the scientific evidence supporting mewing’s jawline-sculpting claims is as thin as dental floss.’
I would say that that statement could apply to all the claims made for mewing.
What a strange way to use your time. Of course that doesn't work. People put their faith in the strangest things.
ReplyDeleteIt's dispiriting that so many people are so gullible.
DeleteI thought you were going to talk about cat sounds 😺
ReplyDeleteThat would be more fun!
DeleteAnother interesting post. Where do you find these things to write about? It seems the kind of thing someone would look up on a whim
ReplyDeleteI just came across it by chance and was astonished by it.
DeleteI also thought the post would be about cat sounds. I never knew about gulls called mews. I do know about housing mews the=ough, we have some here in Adelaide and they are expensive, but not as high as your London ones.
ReplyDeleteLondon is incredibly overpriced.
DeleteI'll go with modern medicine and agree face sculpting by mewing is a load of nonsense (that wasn't the first word I thought of). I do wonder if there is any truth to the suggestion that young people are getting extra bone growth in the back of the lower part of their necks because of starting down at screens. Some evolution may happen relatively quickly.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's all nonsense. As for extra bone growth in the neck - people have been looking down for millennia for different reasons - carving, weaving, writing and so on.
DeleteOrthodontic appliances move teeth around with applied pressure. A dentist once explained to me that the consistent pressure of our tongues behind our teeth, face flesh on the outside etc plays a part in keeping our teeth in the alignment we have (assuring me that my snaggletooth in the front was not going to get worse).
ReplyDeleteHaving said that I don't believe anyone could achieve the claims made for face sculpting or that anyone could be bothered trying it for long enough.
DeleteMost young teenagers have a mouthful of metalwork to realign their teeth.
DeleteMany impressionable people fall for ridiculous claims and waste valuable time following silly routines.
DeleteThe cry of a Buzzard circling above is also called a Mew.
ReplyDeleteThe tongue thing sounds very odd, I won't be bothering to try!
The founder has been struck off the register of orthodontists.
DeleteOf course I knew about the cat Mew, and I had heard of the apartments called Mews, but never the bird so now I'm going to have to find out what it looks like.
ReplyDeleteI think it's just a small seagull.
DeleteIf I'd heard about the mewing/facial sculpture business before, I would have presumed it to be an April Fool's joke...
ReplyDeleteWhatever next?
Cheers, Gail.
That was my first thought, too. There's a lot of quackery about.
DeleteAnd then there is mewl/mewling as in soft cries, of a baby for instance, or by me in one of my piteous nights. We have subdivisions or parts thereof called the Mews of some sort, but I can't think of one in this town.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about your piteous nights . . . 😃😶
Deletesometimes my "foreign" friends comments go to spam. I try to check the not spam button, but sometimes I miss. Thanks for stopping by. Lynn
ReplyDeleteSpam is an irritation.
DeleteI'm totally with Gail on the the mewing/facial sculpture business, I think I'll keep to mewing as done by Bess if she's trying to get what she wants :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteThat's a much more sensible reaction. 😺
ReplyDelete"as thin as dental floss."
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a literary/humorous statement from the association.
Definitely sounds like hokum.
I associate the word with cats, like you, I expect.
Cats and expensive, pretty houses . . .
DeleteI've heard of the mewing exercises. I would tend to go with the experts - orthodonists - warning that it can be harmful.
ReplyDeleteSome people lack common sense, I feel . . .
DeleteWell, I too thought you were going to talk about cat sounds ... but I was wrong!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
It's a natural enough assumption.
DeleteNo lo sabía siempre es bueno aprender algo nuevo. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteIt's amusing, but nonsense.
DeleteNo lo sabía siempre es bueno aprender algo nuevo. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDelete😊
ReplyDeleteWhat a strange activity to try to change one's facial image. I had never heard of this type of mewing before.
ReplyDeleteIt's daft, isn't it?
ReplyDelete