Now that the CDC has, perhaps prematurely, given the go-ahead for vaccinated people to dispense with face masks outdoors, you might think the anti-maskers would calm down a little. But the fact that some people are continuing to wear masks despite the new CDC guidance has kept many of the anti-Maskers boiling over with anger.
Here’s a columnist for the Daily Wire losing it on twitter over those who continue wearing mass now that it’s (allegedly) medically unnecessary:
I think he might want to try decaffinated coffee for a while.
Meanwhile, over on the American Thinker blog, Andrea Widburg is railing at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for saying that she would continue wearing the mask in indoor public spaces:
I know I ought to pity her — she’s obviously suffering from some form of PTSD or self-inflicted Stockholm Syndrome — but I’d be lying if I said I did. AOC is part of a cadre of leftists who used masks and lockdowns to destroy 2020’s election integrity and install a pretender in the White House (and who knows how many in Congress). I’d like to imagine her living for a long time in her mental hell, one that’s a direct byproduct of her irrational Church of Science.
It’s almost enough to convince me to order Widburg one of these.
But if you really want to send the ant-Maskers into orbit, tell them you’re going to keep wearing the masks for ulterior purposes that have nothing to do with COVID. Like the women in this Guardian article who say they’ve grown attached to their masks because when they’re masked up men leave them alone,
“Maybe it’s because I’m a New Yorker or maybe it’s because I always feel like I have to present my best self to the world, but it has been such a relief to feel anonymous,” one woman told the Guardian. “It’s like having a force field around me that says ‘don’t see me’.”
“I don’t want to feel the pressure of smiling at people to make sure everyone knows I’m ‘friendly’ and ‘likable’,” another perma-masker told the Guardian. “It’s almost like taking away the male gaze. There’s freedom in taking that power back.”
This nearly broke Veronica Hays of Newsbusters, who responded with a multi-paragraph rant, “How pathetic,” she said of the Guardian interviewee who thinks the masks are an antidote to the male gaze.
This poor woman would prefer to live in a sterile, faceless world so as to avoid some potential discomfort (or making an effort). That is not freedom. This woman’s dependency on the mask displays weakness, insecurity, and is a willful self-subjugation. Additionally, it attaches blame to men for simply existing in the public arena as it assumes every look holds malicious intent.
Why not a hijab? Why not go all out and wear a full burqa? Or get thee to a nunnery. Covering up for modesty’s sake is a worthwhile endeavor, but concealing one’s visage out of spite against men?
The mask as a feminist power symbol is both cringey and counter-intuitive. Women should be celebrating their beauty and femininity rather than feel compelled to cover up out of misplaced fear/hatred for men.
Masks are at once dehumanizing and coddling. Persistent mask-wearing even without the presence of health risk is indulging fragile, poorly-adjusted individuals to remain so. The dependency of those who are not eagerly awaiting the unmasking of America is irrational. Personal insecurities are preventing people from surrendering the mask as well as addressing and overcoming internal issues which create this reliance. Mask-wearing is fostering a sense of general distrust between and among individuals, and in this case, is being used by feminists as another way to demonize men.
Don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel.
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“It’s almost like taking away the male gaze. There’s freedom in taking that power back.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the male gaze typically directed toward other body parts that aren’t generally covered by a mask?
This is… weird.
Insisting that people allow themselves to be objectified? These same people are probably unhappy that women are allowed to wear clothes at all, one assumes.
“Covering up for modesty’s sake is a worthwhile endeavor,”
Why is that, Vicky?
That phrase in Hamlet is often interpreted as meaning a brothel; so ironically Ms Hays is using an example that’s the exact antithesis to the point she wished to make
Unpopular opinion, but I tend to agree that if you need a mask in public to feel better else you feel objectified or “forced to look sociable”, you might actually have a serious problem of social anxiety and the mask should be seen as a crutch to help one’s operate while you are working on a better, healthier solution. We live in a society and society depends on people being sociable toward one another. I don’t covering oneself up as being sociable toward one another. That’s just me though.
Unlurking long enough to say that as someone living in a defiantly unvaccinated red state area, I was already planning to keep wearing a mask when I’m out in public. The fact that it induces this sort of response in right-wing whack jobs is just a bonus that gives me warm fuzzies.
Many women I know (myself include) wear baggy clothes because it is easier than putting up with being cat-called and hit on or worse. No one is doing it out of spite for men as that would seem to imply they have some right to look at us which we are hatefully withholding from them or something ridiculous like that. We just want to not ne annoyed.
@ epronvost
I’m not so sure.
It’s like a society needs doctors and teachers; but it doesn’t need everyone to be a doctor or a teacher.
There’s enough capacity in a large enough population that not everyone needs to socialise for it to function; and in any event, people can contribute to society in all sorts of ways.
A lot of people who have made great contributions to society have been full on misanthropes. Happily never interacting with people save to publish their works.
I mean, the ‘locked away in their ivory tower’ thing is a notable cliche after all.
@epronovost
Have you considered the possibility that that’s an asshole take based in ignorance of others’ experiences? Or, for that matter of the normal operations of civilization?
On the first part, how often do strangers loudly demand that you smile? How often do people start yelling at you because you looked at them funny(yes, that’s happened to me a lot)? How much would you imagine you’d want to reduce those interactions if they kept happening to you? That’s not even getting into actual social anxiety disorders, for which wearing a mask can be very therapeutic; would you say the same thing to someone who wears thick glasses that mess with eye contact?
For the second part, civilization (that is to say the practice of building and living in cities) fundamentally requires a great deal of non-socialisation. Actually interacting with every single person you pass is a recipe for rapid madness even in an extroverted personality; it’s simply not in us to deal with so many people as people all the time. That’s one reason so many interactions are utterly scripted, even if not formally. The cases where one sits down near a stranger and it turns into a lovely conversation or even long-term interaction of some kind are notable specifically for their rarity. Normally everyone in a city goes through life with blinders on, because it’s the only way to go on functioning when you’re surrounded by so many more people than your brain can properly process.
Ooooorrr, I genuinely get hit on (and yelled at when I decline, or if I’m busy or literally anything that isn’t blushing delight) and bothered and harassed constantly and I don’t want to deal with it? Like why do I need to learn to love this shit instead of just being left alone?
Super don’t appreciate your assumption that wanting to avoid harassment is a mental illness; probably you should do some reflection to figure out why you think I owe anyone my time and attention.
My second job is as a cashier/ waitress and I like wearing my mask at that because men don’t take pictures of me anymore. some creeps use to do that before the mask thing came up.
@eprovonost:
So taking steps to avoid being objectified, or to avoid performing friendliness to random strangers who approach you, is a sign of mental illness?
Listen to more women.
@Mr.Obed because despite her sneers she actually does believe the only way women could respectable if they cover up.
The issue is how they’re covering up.
Specificlly how it conforms to cultural expectations.
To the western chauvinist women showing of thighs, breasts and stomach are the parts of the body that will turn men into raping, monsters and show a profound lack of respect of themselves.
But currently showing their mouths isn’t taboo to their cultural biases on modesty so covering that up is bad and oppressive and an insult against men.
Aside from being hilarious, those excepts David’s posted are just so revealing, aren’t they? Multiple layers of assumptions unravelling!
On a related note, I find it interesting that these are often the same people who mock the term “social construct” (because they either don’t understand it, or pretend they don’t). But their responses here show so clearly how powerful social constructs are e.g. their ideas about “proper” attire and behaviour in public spaces.
I hope that makes some sense, I’m very tired 🙂
@anonymous. The important part is the face. Creeps on the street might comment about other body parts, but what they really want to see is their target’s reaction to being sexually harassed. Women generally try hard not to react, but usually there’s an involuntary trace of shame, fear or anger. It’s much harder for harassers to see that when their targets wear a mask.
@evonprost. What exactly do you think women owe to random strangers as part of sociability that a mask conceals?
I would think a decent society owed people the right to walk without being sexually harassed no matter what they are wearing.
Honestly? I may be the exception to the rule but I have a facial twitch: when I feel very nervous, I look like I’m laughing for no reason. I just cannot control it and some people believe I’m making fun of them (I’m not). I sort of like wearing a mask because at least people cannot see my facial twitch. When the pandemia will be over, I guess I’ll go back to pretend to read in the subway and people will just assume I’m reading a funny book. To the people who blame me for wearing a mask, just try to live a month with my facial twitch. I bet they won’t enjoy it.
I work retail, or at least do when there’s not, you know, a pandemic trying to kill me. I suffer from anxiety to begin with. Trying to look Happy and Pleasant and Helpful for farking hours is its own burden and stress. That’s even before you get the jackass men telling you to ‘smile’. Doubly maddening because you can’t tell them to choke on a bag of dicks like you’d want to on the clock lest you lose your job– which is probably why some of them do it in the first place.
Wearing a mask would give a certain level of comfort and shielding in those cases.
Maybe I just want to wear a mask because they’re terribly comfortable and really pull together my Dread Pirate look.
Why not indeed, you absolute walnut of a person. Why not just let people dress how they like instead of pulling this Islamophobic fashion police routine.
What bothers me, is that most MRA/Incels seem to idolize Asian women as the perfect woman, hey masks have been an everyday part of life for a long time. And women there absolutely cite the same reasons for wearing masks. Other than hygiene, wanting to remain anonymous, and go without makeup are often given as reasons.
@ epronovost
There is no issue with not wanting to be sociable nor not wanting to interact with people though.
And if people achieve that through wearing masks (I achieve it through wearing headphones) then so be it.
There’s actually a lot of very rational reasons for wanting to continue wearing masks. I probably won’t once the risk to others has gone (like, 85% vaccination rates or something) because I find them uncomfortable – which was NEVER a good excuse not to wear one in a pandemic, of course, unless you have additional medical needs – but for the first time in my adult life I’ve not had a cold or bug for a over a year.
And despite what Matt Walsh thinks in many major cities the air actually is pretty toxic, seeing as we let car companies pump it full of lead and heavy metals. If you bike everyday somewhere like London keeping up the mask wearing is probably advisable.
I do dislike seeing everyone with a mask, but practicality still win out for me. Especially sinc face masks are never exterior sign of ideology I disagree with.
I also note that for theses clowns, there’s a maximal amount of sexy, but also a minimum. I suspect the minimum is higher than the maximum, so that they can alway complain.
I kinda like wearing a mask because it conceals any beard shade I may have.
@rik
Well it’s fine to shame woman out of wearing certain types of clothing she dislikes because female empowerment is when you dress the way she and bigots like.
@Ohlmann
Someone on YouTube made this description; women need be sexy enough to show you care enough of about being physically pleasing to the eyes of men.
“Modest” enough to show they’re not interested in sex for themselves. A women’s body need be a prize for the “nice guys”.