I have to say I've never been a fan of masks. But when Covid came along and we absolutely had to don them for survival around people...that opinion slowly changed for me...I really hated the not being able to breathe freely aspect for quite some time. But after getting used to them and being around everyone else in the same boat...I began to realize we were all comunicating with each other just with our eyes. We all had to put all our hidden facial expressions into our eye contact which made most everyone's eyes so much more expressive! I really began to dig it! And at the same time I found I could "say" a lot with my eyes with/and without my words while feeling just a tinch safer and didn't have to worry about say...how much I was smiling or not. I'm so comfortable with a mask on now that I actually prefer it when around a number of people. And when its cold ...a mask keeps my face warm!
Thanks for this piece Louise...Really got my ponder on with this one!
Thanks for the comment, Vicki! And yes, I have read similar comments to yours since the pandemic about women appreciating that COVID masks take off the pressure to smile in public. You might be interested in a storytelling show I did about men telling me to smile that I did last year. It's on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBM9A-vfUME
Thank you! And the queer community has so much to contribute to this conversation, since masks can be both a tool for survival as well as subversion and authenticity, as you mentioned. I’m particularly thinking about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and other drag queens. Sometimes the more I get thinking on a topic theres just too much to put in one post.
I'm intrigued! Although to clarify, I'm a straight ally and proud PFLAG mom 🏳️⚧️🌈🦄😁. Can you DM me on my Instagram or Twitter and we can exchange email addresses to follow up??
This is thought provoking—thank you. I wonder if there's a difference between masking and code switching? One seems to mean hiding something whereas the other seems to be amplifying different aspects in turn. But maybe that's a moot distinction, not sure.
Thanks Louise! I'll ck out the video. I've delt with of course mostly men but with others too all my life telling me to smile...Of course it's usually just to make themselves feel better, ugh. My face is just naturally not a smiley one. Don't know why...And it's been a little chore for me to smile when there isn't a child or something else around to smile about.
I have to say I've never been a fan of masks. But when Covid came along and we absolutely had to don them for survival around people...that opinion slowly changed for me...I really hated the not being able to breathe freely aspect for quite some time. But after getting used to them and being around everyone else in the same boat...I began to realize we were all comunicating with each other just with our eyes. We all had to put all our hidden facial expressions into our eye contact which made most everyone's eyes so much more expressive! I really began to dig it! And at the same time I found I could "say" a lot with my eyes with/and without my words while feeling just a tinch safer and didn't have to worry about say...how much I was smiling or not. I'm so comfortable with a mask on now that I actually prefer it when around a number of people. And when its cold ...a mask keeps my face warm!
Thanks for this piece Louise...Really got my ponder on with this one!
Thanks for the comment, Vicki! And yes, I have read similar comments to yours since the pandemic about women appreciating that COVID masks take off the pressure to smile in public. You might be interested in a storytelling show I did about men telling me to smile that I did last year. It's on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBM9A-vfUME
I LOVED this. And I also think that masks offer us new ways to find authenticity. I'm so glad I got to read this.
Thank you! And the queer community has so much to contribute to this conversation, since masks can be both a tool for survival as well as subversion and authenticity, as you mentioned. I’m particularly thinking about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and other drag queens. Sometimes the more I get thinking on a topic theres just too much to put in one post.
I'd be up for a conversation in both our Substacks. It'd be awesome. A braided essay from two queer voices.
I'm intrigued! Although to clarify, I'm a straight ally and proud PFLAG mom 🏳️⚧️🌈🦄😁. Can you DM me on my Instagram or Twitter and we can exchange email addresses to follow up??
This is thought provoking—thank you. I wonder if there's a difference between masking and code switching? One seems to mean hiding something whereas the other seems to be amplifying different aspects in turn. But maybe that's a moot distinction, not sure.
Hmm -- good question. Maybe there is a subtle distinction and maybe it’s just the language we use to describe how it feels. Have to think about that!
This strengthened hope for me. Thank you Louise!
Oh good! Thanks so much for your comment 😍
Thanks Louise! I'll ck out the video. I've delt with of course mostly men but with others too all my life telling me to smile...Of course it's usually just to make themselves feel better, ugh. My face is just naturally not a smiley one. Don't know why...And it's been a little chore for me to smile when there isn't a child or something else around to smile about.
Totally!