Chewing Gum Got Etiquette Approval

“Writers on etiquette say that where beauty experts are advising chewing gum for beauty’s sake; airplane hostesses are offering it for digestion’s sake; athletic directors are giving it to their athletes for their throats’ sake; and bridge players are chewing for “better concentration”… 

Gum-Chewing on Pages of Etiquette Books in 1936

The world of etiquette has introduced a new recruit to its pages of when, where, and hows. No longer is it a question of whether we should chew gum, but the appropriateness of the time, the occasion, and the place, and the ways it’s done. For writers on etiquette say that where beauty experts are advising chewing gum for beauty’s sake; airplane hostesses are offering it for digestion’s sake; athletic directors are giving it to their athletes for their throats’ sake; and bridge players are chewing for “better concentration,” it is natural that the margins should broaden and chewing gum be enjoyed on other occasions. 

For every recognized form of behavior, there is a set of rules to accompany it. Here are a few suggestions that the writers of etiquette are making in connection with the chewing of gum:

• We chew when it is appropriate. 

• We either accept or refuse gum without making a fuss either way. 

• We chew only in the presence of those who enjoy chewing gum. 

• Chewing gum is like chewing anything else, and follows the same rules of behavior.

Briefly, the opinion seems to be “to chew and let chew.” — Wilmington Press, 1936

 

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of  The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia