Some want to keep on masking: “like an invisibility cloak”

By Aaron Humes: The Guardian (UK) reports that some Americans in varying circumstances prefer not to abandon face masks even as the COVID-19 pandemic moves closer to the end.

These persons cite the “anonymity” the masks provide in public as well as protection from those, ironically, who are campaigning to stop the practice altogether.

Whether and when to wear a face mask has been one of the most fraught and divisive debates of the pandemic, from the early days of (bad) expert advice against masking, to the anti-masker protests of summer 2020, and the current, oddly angry public debates about when people should stop wearing masks outside.

U.S. officials in recent weeks have said that fully vaccinated Americans can go outdoors without a face mask, except in big crowds. But those who want to remain wearing masks told the Guardian that it is a matter of personal preference, nothing to do with being pro-science or anti-science, liberal or conservative, they said. Instead, it’s about the fact that there are more things that can hurt them than viruses, including the aggressive or unwelcome attention of other people – or even any attention at all.

Women say the mask hides their true feelings and emotions especially from a customer who is being rude or saying off-color political things, or taking away the attention of the male gaze, described by one as an “emotional freedom.”

Still others turn to mask-wearing as homage to their culture. Some Muslim women told researcher Anna Piela that the pandemic allowed them to feel more comfortable adopting the niqab, which they had wanted to do before.

Early in the pandemic, many Asian Americans and Asian immigrants were among the first to adopt face masks, a decision that may have protected their health while simultaneously making them targets for racism. A year later, with coronavirus cases down but concerns about anti-Asian hate crimes much higher, some are looking to masks as a form of disguise.

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