A recent study from Cardiff University’s school of psychology claims women find men in blue surgical masks more appealing sexually. Is this cause, effect, or something more alarming?
In The Socratic Review of Friday 14 JAN 2022, we ran a story from the Pana Times entitled Face masks make people look more attractive... which got me thinking. Is the subtle eroticism of a blue surgical mask strictly a phenomenon of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, or could it be that something more is afoot?
The article fields a supposition that this shift in perception is evolutionary; and a positive shift at that; the positivity being that we previously associated masks with infirmity (if not downright terminality) and now we have somehow shifted this perception to the healthy and the reproductively desirable. I can agree with this assessment to some extent. A woman seeks a mate (or so many sociologists tell us) based on the male's perceived ability to provide. A man who is masked (and thus more likely to remain healthy and working) would seem a safer biological bet for mating and providing than his more audacious, reckless, and unmasked rival. In this respect, the blue surgical mask would be the equivalent of a large boat or an expensive sports car in cliche's gone by.
I sometimes catch the end of a popular Colombian telenovela (Enfermeras) at my local barbershop while getting my hair cut, and this show seems to support the hypothesis. In Enfermeras the male nurses are all muscular, inked, smoldering, sensitive, and abundantly masked - usually right up until the requisite stolen and/or dramatically clandestine kiss. But what if something else is at play beyond just pop culture idealization and topical sex appeal? What if people are becoming addicted to the anonymity their face masks offer, and this attraction to other masked individuals is only a reinforcement of their neurosis? Don't get me wrong - in a case where we have a novel virus that we are still trying to understand, I believe it's our civic duty to shield our fellow citizens as much as possible by wearing a mask. But at what point does it cease to be civic duty and instead become a coping mechanism for general insecurity, let alone a pose for other purposes, or worse still - the valueless virtue signaling of pop culture?
The "sex sells" aspect of this is more amusing than concerning when you really think about it. At the risk of sounding cynical, young, sexually active men are rather ingenious (and equally disingenuous) when it comes to projecting what they think the females of their species will want in a mate. In a culture where "toxic masculinity" is eschewed and the "sensitive male" is exalted, it's not hard to imagine a group of guys bragging about getting their "mask game on" - especially if their tactic has been successful. This fraternalist behavior notwithstanding, the part of this phenomenon that I do find unnerving is not the biological, the evolutionary, or even the quasi erotic. The part I find unnerving is the percolating antisocial overtones of psychosis present in some of the current maskophile (my word - feel free to use it) acolytes.
In a 10 MAY 2021 piece by Julia Carrie Wong in The Guardian entitled The people who want to keep masking: ‘It’s like an invisibility cloak’ Ms. Wong explores several folks who are reluctant to abandon face masks with or without a pandemic, based on the feelings of anonymity such coverings provide. Considering it has long been a pursued human rights goal in the west to "free" Muslim woman from hijab and burkas that ostensibly dehumanize them, how is this trend to pursue dehumanized anonymity suddenly desirable? Likewise in an era where cultural "appropriation" has become a pervasive social taboo, is the recent fashion trend toward balaclavas (as reported in the 15 JAN 2022 issue of The Socratic Review) a reflection of a desire for female solidarity, or just another tool in the box of pursuing social invisibility among the insecure, socially awkward and/or willfully self-isolating?
I pursue this line of inquiry in light of Ms. Wong's aforementioned article, where the subjects involved (and their reasoning) is nothing short of extraordinary, from a woman in customer service who wants the "freedom" to grimace when a customer annoys her to a retired teacher who feels the American propensity for "cheerfulness" is an onerous burden for anyone who (like him) possesses a "naturally grim countenance" that's "off-putting." Will a new "virtue signaling" replace the old? Will we feel societal pressure to keep masking to protect the feelings of the unattractive, antisocial, anxious, and insecure? Will (as the article from the Pana Times above posits) burka be the fashion for all?
From my observation, this fetish of anonymity started long before the pandemic. Social media and internet chat have fed on anonymity for as long as social media and internet chat have existed. Could it be that a shift to a masked society (and an erotic attachment to seeking masked mates) is a natural (or rather unnatural) progression for our species? Consider for a moment how much life has changed with the urbanization of the world. When humans were contained in agrarian villages there was little to no anonymity. As humans moved into cities the ability to blend-in and vanish increased. The suburban movement made a hybrid between anonymity and neighborliness more controlled and fluid but still accessible. Now with droves of younger folks lured back into cities to pursue their dreams of "sustainability" and "live, work, play" "life balances," is masking a cry for even more well... masking?
And can anyone really ignore just plain escapism? Escapism is a powerful drug, and we should never doubt its efficacy when exploring the potential eroticism of masks and anonymity.
For about a decade now, the "puppy play" movement (which seemingly began in the gay leather scene) has moved into more mainstream consciousness. In a 17 FEB 2021 piece by Zachary Zane in Men's Health entitled 'Pup Play' Isn't Just a Sexual Kink. It's Freedom the author explores why grown adults choose to forgo adulthood (to say nothing of humanity itself) for the chance to emulate "man's best friend." In a world where "adulting" has become an accepted verb, I suppose this should be a surprise to no one, to say nothing of a world where couples sometimes choose pets over children and afford them the same reverence and attention.
Personally, I have never been in the least bit interested in"puppy play," but I would be lying if I said I didn't have close friends who were. I would also be lying if I said I had any clue as to why they find it "freeing" or "erotic." However, after nearly six decades on this globe, I know very well that the heart seeks what the heart likes and reason be damned. But a trend toward dehumanization in any form is disconcerting. Whether we choose to isolate ourselves with masks, or veils, or online profiles, or sunglasses, or puppy suits, or burka, or whatever else comes down the pike - the idea that we are moving towards a world of vagueness (whether that be by gender or even humanity itself) is worrying.
At the beginning of this pandemic, many civil libertarians saw the dangers of masking becoming a permanent fixture in our society; and not without reason. The creation of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) after the September 11th, 2001 attacks being a pertinent example. Civil libertarians pointed out that liberties ceded to a government (even when it is in the temporary best interest of the nation) are rarely if ever returned after the crises has passed. Another classic example being the "temporary" income tax of the Wilson Administration for World War I that is still in place over 100 years later!
The list of incremental infringements on our civil liberties that have become permanent fixtures in our daily lives, from seat belts to cigarette smoking, are too numerous to list here, but it suffices to say, the civil libertarian concerns were not without merit. As we move out of this acute crises, how do we keep from conflating genuine concern for our fellow man with a thinly veiled attempt at promoting further division and dehumanization of all men? It is a ponderous question, but one that history has shown needs a quick and well-reasoned answer. History teaches us that when humans manage to dehumanize each other, the results are never very good. Whatever we want to tell ourselves about masking and its societal, reproductive or even erotic possibilities, we should make sure it is more fact than fetish. Otherwise, we may all be nameless faceless eyes in a sea of apathetic vaguery.
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