A Liberating Dining Etiquette Solution

The liberation wrapper is their solution — a paper wrapper that hides a large burger. On it is a picture of a women’s closed, smiling mouth. The video shows side shots of a woman eating behind the wrapper so you can see all the glorious big biting in action. From the front, it just looks like she’s slightly moving her head around. 

In 2013 the Liberation Wrapper was a way for Japanese women to chow down and look pretty

Chowing down on a cheeseburger as big as your head is one of life’s greatest pleasures. And getting ketchup on your nose or some meat juice on your chin is a welcome hazard. But according to the Freshness Burger chain in Japan, opening wide for a big bite is anything but attractive.

The restaurant has come up with something called the liberation wrapper. It’s a way for women in particular to take big bites of a burger and still look ladylike. The idea behind the wrapper is explained in a video. In it, Japanese etiquette and the concept of “ochobo” or small, modest mouth, are explained.

“In public, a large open mouth is regarded as ugly and rude,” says the video narrator. "... This means they are denied the wild pleasure of taking mouth-size bites of this big tasty burger freely in public.”

The restaurant explains that women are encouraged to cover their mouths in public when opening them, and that as a result, they never seem to sell their biggest burger.

The liberation wrapper is their solution to the problem. It’s a paper wrapper that hides the burger. On it is a picture of a women’s closed, smiling mouth. The video shows side shots of a woman eating behind the wrapper so you can see all the glorious big biting in action. From the front, it just looks like she’s slightly moving her head around. 

The wrapper is “freeing women from the spell of the “ochobo” mouth” says the video. It also says sales of the classic burger (the big one) to female customers is up 213% from the previous month.

Burger-eating etiquette for women in Japan is a complete 180 degrees from how it’s seen in the United States. Carl’s Jr. has turned hot girls and big burgers into its main ad campaign. You know the ones where a supermodel eats a burger and gets it all over the place and there isn’t a napkin in sight? — Jean Harris for L.A. Times, 2013

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia