Why Are Gen Z Boys Chewing on Rock-Hard Gum?

A square-jawed young man faces the camera and tells viewers that they, too, can have the facial architecture of Clark Kent. He runs a finger along his jawline as if it really could cut glass.

Near the end of the video, one of many similar testimonials on TikTok and YouTube, he credits his chiseled appearance to his habit of gnawing on extra-hard chewing gum.

It might come from a brand like Stronger Gum, which claims that its product can sculpt customers’ jawlines within two weeks, or Jawcko, which offers tough gum in flavors like “Muscle Mango” and “Jacked Watermelon.”

A growing number of Gen Z men are seeking out stiff chewing gum from brands that claim their products will build up chewers’ jaw muscles, giving them a more conventionally masculine look. Teenage boys hoping to improve their attractiveness in “looksmaxxing” communities online are encountering an explosion of gum brands that position their products as the facial equivalent of a Spartan workout routine.

“Say goodbye to a weak chin and hello to a jawline that commands attention,” Jawliner, a brand that sells “Facial Fitness” chewing gum, says on its website.

The products are reaching young customers despite their cost. Jawliner has sold more than one million pouches of its gum, which usually sell for $26 and contain around 60 pieces, since the product was introduced in 2022, according to Tiffany Tran, a spokeswoman for the company. She added that 60 percent of those customers were ages 18 to 25.