Mask Appeal
The Noble Allure of Wearing Masks
Even though I’m vaccinated, I still wear a mask in public when I’m indoors. Do you? With the fluctuating spikes of COVID cases each time a new variant hits the streets and starts to spread, I’m thinking of making masks a permanent fashion statement. I have an envious collection to coordinate with my wardrobe along with two mask pouches I keep packed in my purse and one in my glove compartment. Personally, I embrace mask wearing as an egalitarian accessory. When I wear a mask, I blend in with everyone else, or at least I did when the majority of people were still wearing them. Masks hide the triple layer of bandaids I use to cover up the hole in the middle of my face.
They are useful in other utilitarian ways. Wearing a mask prevents me from succumbing to hacking fits during high pollen days. I’ve gotten into the habit of grabbing a mask to work in my garden when the pollen is so thick you can see it floating in the air like soot raining down in communities near a California wildfire.
But more cheerful to consider is the fun of wearing masks. This pandemic era has made me think a lot about what I loved doing as a child and bringing those things back into my life as much as possible. Some of this wistfulness is probably inspired by my grandsons. But who didn’t like wearing masks as a child? The ability to transform into your fantasy self and create a new identity by simply putting on a face covering is marvelous. The masked heroine or hero. The magic fairy. Assuming a secret identity for a masquerade ball.
The oldest known mask is from 7000 BC and made from stone. Masks have been used over centuries for protection, disguise, performance, and entertainment. People have worn masks as part of cultural celebrations and ceremonies. Even now we have Mardi Gras in New Orleans and other cities. Carnival in Brazil and Venice. The celebration of Corpus Christi in Cuzco and the Festival of the Virgin of Carmen in Paucartambo, Peru. In Africa, masks are worn to represent the spirit of ancestors in religious rituals.
What became known as The Party of the 20th Century was Truman Capote’s famous black and white ball attended by the rich and famous elite of the time — most wearing masks.
And, of course, there’s Halloween.
In American football, a player gets penalized for pulling the mask on the helmet of another player. Baseball catchers and hockey goaltenders wear masks. Scuba divers and snorkelers wear masks.
When you think about it, isn’t wearing a mask similar to putting on make-up? Goop spread over your skin, paint on your lips and eyelids. Lacquer on your eyelashes? And all of that takes way more time and effort — not to mention expense — than slipping on a mask.
Masks in theatre. Masks in dance. Masks we call veils worn by brides.
Masks are used as devices in literature to disguise secret identities. There are well known characters who sported masks. Zorro. Erik in the Phantom of the Opera. Iron Man. Robin Hood. The Lone Ranger. Batman. Catwoman. Wonder Woman. Spiderman. Darth Vader. Gladiator. And of course, The Mask. Sometimes masks are worn by heroes and heroines and sometimes by villains in Shakespeare plays.
Performers like Buckethead, Kiss, Daft Punk, Sia, Blue Man Group, and so many others have created mask-wearing alter egos.
On TV we have The Masked Singer and its spinoff The Masked Dancer.
There are colorful cultures far more rooted in traditions of celebration than we are in the United States. I was in Pisac, Peru in 2010 on a day that happened to be during the Fiestas Patris when all of a sudden a parade of men rounded the corner wearing these wonderful masks with exaggerated noses. This was only months after I’d lost my nose to cancer so it felt like some sort of ritual healing performance choreographed just for me.
Here are some things I don’t understand about anti-maskers. If the issue is not wanting to be told by the government how to behave or what to wear, do you wander around naked in public? Or, do you insist on not wearing a seat belt? Actually, I have a lot of questions about the people who’ve gotten their 15 minutes of fame in videos that have gone viral showing them acting like asses as they’ve screamed and wreaked havoc in public places because they were adamant about their rights being taken from them when mask mandates were still the norm.
Let’s reframe the attitude about masks. To borrow a saying I used often in my youth, “take a chill pill.” Think of mask wearing as bringing celebration and ceremony into our daily lives. In this case, the joy of being alive.
