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.
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@rik : while that clown purposefully conflate them, remember that there is actually several family of veils who don’t have much in common.
And also remember that both white supremacists and far right islamists want people to confuse all veils in a blur and confuse them together, because they want a muslim group vs a white group. Except that some veils are traditional garbs, some are here because they make the wearer feel better, and some are litteral far right statement on par with the KKK white hood.
I’m sure the air is very offended. And I wouldn’t say humans are nothing but vessels of disease, but, you know, they are vessels of disease. That’s how diseases work.
Listen to yourself, my man, and have a think. A good, long think about if your feeding paranoia and fear is disgraceful, arrogant, or offensive in any way. Possibly. Even the slightest bit.
@evanoprost
How much should I display to you to be sociable? You know, I’m just curious here. Is a niquaab sociable? If not, why not; and as a followup do we think that entire societies of Muslims are not being sociable to each other?
Does the covering not being sociable extend to my body garments? How much skin should I show to be sociable? Are we talking Gor-levels or can I at least wear as much as cutoff shorts and and a tank? Please let me know, I dread to think there are people out there thinking my jeans and mask are unsociable. How much clothing should I divest myself of?
Ah, fine distinctions. Let us consider those.
My limited exposure to religious conservatives (mainly of the US Christian variety) suggests that the concept of “modesty” is (at least purportedly) about avoiding tempting men sexually. This would be generally achieved by being relatively covered up by the current mainstream cultural standards.
OTOH, if you cover up too much or in wrong way, you may come across as a holier-than-thou type (socially suspect!) or just weird looking (inherently bad!) or perhaps a radical Muslim (enemy tribe!!!). That’s the difference between modesty vs. covering up with suspicious, nefarious motivations.
I don’t think the mask issue (or niqab issue, for that matter) is about women being generally too unappealing to men. It’s more about breaking established norms on public appearance – a grave matter for the conservative mind. Women in particular are also expected to be warm and approachable in public, which the mask easily hinders (up to and including hiding their reactions to catcallers), while masked men easily come across as threatening.
Then there’s the issue of tribal affiliation display, which seems to be getting entirely out of hand w/r to masking in the US. Aside from the islamophobia angle, liberals who favor masking are easily interpreted by anti-mask conservatives as being spiteful or hostile toward someone (Donald Trump, conservatives, men, other people at large). It’s a easy way to rationalize why you feel the need to see normal smiling faces on strangers.
I’m looking forward to not having to wear FFP2 masks everywhere. They always seem to move up into my eyes, which hurts.
But cloth masks? Hell yeah!
@ dali
I really notice that.
There seems to be an inverse relationship between population density and level of interaction.
So when I lived in London I would walk everywhere with headphones in pretty much oblivious to everyone else. When I moved to the sticks I found that I didn’t like wearing headphones any more, but in say Truro city centre I won’t interact other than the usual pleasantries when you’re holding doors open for each other, that sort of thing. When I head out into the lanes close to the city, where there’s still quite a few walkers, we’ll nod as we pass. When you get onto the more remote lanes you might exchange a few words “Glorious day!” etc. But if you’re up on the moor tops and you encounter someone you’ll have a full on conversation.
No doubt there’s some eco-psych explanation for that. Maybe that Dunbar’s Number thing?
It’s really only a matter of time before a Republican run state passes a law against wearing a mask. It’s be done under the guise of masks making it hard to identify criminal suspects or something, but the real object is control.
It’s not pathological to be anxious about harassment from though. It’s rational because harassment is so common. Women are already alter their behavior to avoid it. Keeping a mask on, whether you physically need it or not, is just one more thing women may to do evade harassers. If men would stop harassing women, we wouldn’t feel the need to take steps to avoid harassment.
This is the rationale behind some nasty laws dictating how women can dress in Quebec and France, btw. Like, almost word for word.
Uh yeah I’m keeping my mask thanks. I enjoy not getting colds all the time for once, and also I’m soon going to be (more?) immunocompromised thanks to meds for autoimmune stuff, so like… no, the mask does not come off. I deserve to stay healthy more than you deserve to see my face.
Also? The pandemic is not over, not even close. And the lack of containment in much of the world (including the US honestly, we still only have like a 50% vaccination rate) means we’re going to be seeing more strains that can bypass the vax. Even if those are unlikely to kill vaxxed folks, I don’t want to get sick and I don’t want to transmit them – especially when they could still kill unvaxxed folks. Civic responsibility, y’all.
Re the social angle, other women here have said it better than I could. Though I can’t say I’ve gotten less street harassment during the pandemic TBH. Less scary street harassment since I pass more easily as cis with a mask, but probably more overall. (Maybe also since I gained a bunch of weight from quarantine, mobility issues, etc. and creepy douchebag guys somehow think that fat implies consent.)
Tension between two needs. We’re pack animals who both hate to be completely alone as it’s dangerous, but also like and require their personal space as we’re a bunch of aquisitive monkeys. Which urge predominates at any particular time depends on how many people surround you.
There. I can invent evo-psych with the best of them. 😛
This almost reads like an Onion headline. “Right Wing Pundit Who Feeds Fear And Paranoia About Masks Angry About Masks Feeding Fear And Paranoia.”
Women Who Lives In Entire Right Wing Media Ecosystem Dedicated to Fostering Divisiveness And Distrust Among Individuals Thinks Divisiveness And Distrust Are Bad Things
Well, neither is being unable to walk down the street without getting harassed and catcalled. Pick your poison.
Those poor men, simply existing while they innocently follow women down the street, command them to smile, and yell insults at them. Won’t someone please think of them.
Anyway, I thought incels were thrilled about mask wearing because nobody can see that their maxillary cosine is .02 off of Chad’s?
A lot of people who claim to love freedom are losing their shit over other people choosing to do something harmless, and I’m kind of enjoying watching them try to defend this in transparently nonsensical ways. I wish I could call it a “mask-off moment”, for obvious reasons, but the truth is that I suspect it surprises nobody.
I wonder what other things that are “not medically necessary” are grotesque and unhuman. Can we wear clothes even if it’s warm enough that we can do without? Am I allowed to drink a cup of tea when I’m not thirsty? How about staying in bed after you’ve woken up and are fairly certain you won’t fall asleep again? I’m not sure I understand the rules of this world where things being optional is bad.
I’m pretty sure everyone does stuff to avoid potential discomfort. It’s called discomfort because it’s not enjoyable. You’re allowed to try and avoid it.
@Steph
I’d say it’s probably better to avoid those things when you don’t want them. Probably save everyone a lot of awkwardness etc.
1) Stockholm Syndrome is not a thing. 2) If Stockholm Syndrome were a thing, what would the self-inflicted version be? AOC has taken herself hostage, and in the process she fell in love with herself, and as a result, she is continuing to wear masks in certain circumstances?
Off topic, but I was wondering if anyone here has been keeping track of the news from Gaza. I’m legit scared there’s a risk the already nightmarish situation there could get even worse– and by “get even worse”, I mean “escalate into World War III”.
Obviously, she’s been taken hostage by a sentient mask, like the main character in that one Jim Carrey movie.
Or maybe this one:
I’m so gonna keep wearing the mask, no flu and only minimal amount of colds has been so great.
Cyborgette, I totally agree with you about the not-catching-colds thing. I hope you can stay safe and healthy with your new meds!
Personally, I’d like to see a cultural shift towards masks becoming more acceptable even after the pandemic, in the way that they seem to be in Japan and other parts of Asia. If I can keep from infecting other people with my germs, even if they’re only common-cold germs, how is that “antisocial”? Seems very pro-social to me.
https://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2021/05/17/women-are-keeping-their-masks-on-to-ward-off-the-male-gaze-and-anti-maskers-are-losing-their-shit/#comment-3662683
Women are CONSTANTLY being told that we have to have a pleasant/happy expression on our faces. It has been a REAL RELIEF TO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS for the comfort of men lest we be told we have “resting bitch face” when we’re just not to exist in community spaces.
People can have a variety of reasons for wearing some kind of mask in public. Before the pandemic, I sometimes experimented with an FFP1 or FFP2 dust mask outdoors on particularly dry, windy and dusty spring days because my airways are sensitive. However, it felt too awkward to do in places where many strangers (and some familiar people) might see me.
This spring, we have a record birch pollen load here in Finland. It’s been noted in the media that social normalization of face masks has been good for the pollen allergic people, who often benefit from wearing a mask outdoors during pollen season. Elsewhere, some study found that exposure to tree pollen can make people more susceptible to covid-19 regardless of allergy or lack thereof. Personally, I can more or less manage my pollen allergy with meds, but now I often try to wear some kind mask outdoors to reduce my pollen exposure.
Masking in Finland was adopted gradually, mainly during late 2020, and it’s not going anywhere yet. That said, people here don’t much wear masks outdoors, and certainly not in the parks where I usually take my walks. We have mostly relied on distancing and limited contacts, although now we’re (perhaps prematurely) easing on those as high risk people are at least halfway vaccinated. I rather suspect we’ll need to continue widespread masking together with vaccinations into foreseeable future, if we want to live otherwise normally and also keep the new “fast” virus variants mostly suppressed.
“My limited exposure to religious conservatives (mainly of the US Christian variety) suggests that the concept of “modesty” is (at least purportedly) about avoiding tempting men sexually. This would be generally achieved by being relatively covered up by the current mainstream cultural standards.”
I think that’s a reason they’d initially give. But when pressed often times it’s just purportedly. They still want women to guzzy themselves and make themselves visually appealing to men. Just through a “modest” lense of sexualization to get men.
Particularly the “nice” sort of men who’d judge a woman favorably on her modest dress.
“OTOH, if you cover up too much or in wrong way, you may come across as a holier-than-thou type (socially suspect!)”
Yeah the lemon club had a scene dissecting this mentality. If you don’t keep your legs closed you’re a slut if not you’re a prude.
“perhaps a radical Muslim (enemy tribe!!!). That’s the difference between modesty vs. covering up with suspicious, nefarious motivations.”
That also gets a nice guy response with the presupposition that women wearing clothes from other cultures must be forced into it without significant degree of want.
“I don’t think the mask issue (or niqab issue, for that matter) is about women being generally too unappealing to men. It’s more about breaking established norms on public appearance – a grave matter for the conservative mind. Women in particular are also expected to be warm and approachable in public, which the mask easily hinders (up to and including hiding their reactions to catcallers),”
See I think those two things go hand-hand with each other. Women breaking established norms of public appearance can be looked as showing this idea that women aren’t obligated to dress in a way that would be most pleasing to the men in their culture in a certain aspect.
I can agree it’s also on how it could be interpreted as a sight of party allegiance/political allegiance and hostility by conservatives.
But in terms of the specific indignation of women covering up to avoid the male gaze I do think it comes from conservatives thinking women need try to visually please the men that are dominant in their culture when in their presence.
I wore a mask outside yesterday because I wanted to warm up my face when I went out.
(continued)
The conventional wisdom at least until recently seems to have been that cold and flu are spread mostly by touch. I’ve had less than one cold per year since I improved my handwashing routine several years ago, although I also don’t mingle with other people very much. Oddly enough, I did catch one cold this winter (tested negative for covid) despite me and everyone around me taking precautions to stop viruses.
I used to think the Japanese (?) habit of wearing masks in crowded places was largely hygiene theatre. My thought went something like, “It probably does reduce cold and flu somewhat, but they could achieve that better by actually allowing the sick salarymen to take a break from work. Also, there seems to be a huge social stigma against coughing or sneezing in public for any reason, if you aren’t wearing a mask, which can be problematic.” (Did I mention I have pollen allergy, plus some other chronic respiratory issues?)
Now, we know that covid-19 at least is very much spread by floating aerosols, as well as larger droplets. That’s why in public indoor spaces we need masking, ventilation and crowd density control. I suppose these also help against cold and flu, but those could be more easily controlled by hand/surface hygiene and local distancing. We use a combination of several control methods against covid, and that combination also happens to work rather well against flu, and probably against cold. I think people shouldn’t overestimate how much of their lack of cold/flu (or indeed, lack of covid) in this past year can be credited to masks alone.