Grease, the iconic 1978 musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, prominently features chewing gum as a recurring theme. The rebellious Pink Ladies, a group of high-school girls, are shown either smoking cigarettes or chewing gum throughout the film. Gum acts as a symbol of rule-breaking in the movie, with the production designer even ordering 100,000 sticks for the actors. Capitalizing on the film’s popularity, Topps paid $1 million to feature Travolta and Newton-John on trading cards sold with packs of bubblegum.
During the late 1970s, gum became associated with a new type of teenage rebel. These slick high schoolers donned leather jackets, smoked cigarettes, openly discussed sex, and chewed gum frequently. Gum also served as a signifier for grit and sexuality in other films of the 20th century, such as “On the Waterfront” and “Pretty Woman,” where its presence indicated characters who didn’t conform to societal norms. However, in recent years, gum consumption has declined. From 2009 to 2015, store sales in North America dropped by approximately 4.7% annually. The pandemic further exacerbated this trend, with overall gum sales still down about 32% compared to 2018.
The decline in chewing gum can be attributed to various factors. The pandemic reduced the need for gum as fewer people interacted closely with others. Additionally, the e-commerce landscape poses challenges for the gum industry. Gum purchases are often impulse buys, similar to grabbing a Kit Kat bar at the checkout line. However, this psychological aspect of gum buying doesn’t translate effectively to online shopping. Currently, only 2% of gum sales occur online.
However, the issue for the chewing gum industry runs deeper than just pandemic-related effects. Gum has lost its cultural cachet and allure. In previous generations, gum possessed an edgy reputation, but today’s popular culture features new symbols of teenage rebellion and is less reliant on universal symbols of defiance.
The association between gum and rebellion predates iconic film characters like Travolta, Brando, and Roberts by several hundred years. The Aztecs chewed chicle, a resin obtained from sapodilla trees and the precursor to modern chewing gum, but they disapproved of the practice due to its connotations of selling sex. As gum gained popularity in the late 19th century United States, these sexual associations persisted. William Wrigley Jr., founder of the Wrigley Company, utilized suggestive advertisements featuring models to promote gum. The product’s expansion to Europe during World War I only solidified its reputation as a “dirty American habit.”
Anxieties surrounding gum were not limited to Europe and sexuality but also extended to the general distaste for witnessing open mouths. Schools in the US and UK began banning gum chewing, and etiquette specialists criticized the act. Gum’s association with rebellion eventually found its way into Hollywood films, providing a convenient symbol without the controversy of explicit sexuality. Gum-chewing characters in movies represented rebellion and a rejection of societal norms.
In today’s era of widespread sex and violence in media, chewing gum no longer carries the same taboo. Furthermore, each generation has its own symbols of rebellion, such as vaping replacing cigarettes in popular culture. The concept of what constitutes rebellious behavior has become more diffuse, with personalized media platforms like TikTok and Netflix catering to individual interests. The decline in gum consumption may be a consequence of the diverse array of identities and expressions of rebellion available today. With no universal way to rebel, traditional symbols of boundary-pushing have lost their impact in our current cultural landscape.
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