We now spend a good amount of time with masks parked around our chins or hanging from our ears when they’re not covering our mouths and noses. I have them in my purse, my car, hanging with my keys. They’ve become a part of our lives.

I don’t know about you, but masks have also been a frequent topic of my conversations lately. The question most discussed is: 

Are masks here to stay?

We now know that wearing masks aids in preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. It protects others and ourselves. It doesn’t mean it’s always fun to wear one.

The Annoyance Factor

Medical masks can be quite annoying to wear for us non-medical professionals, causing nostalgic outbreaks of acne and pulling down on our ears. Glasses fog up if not positioned just so. It’s hard to breathe when you’re walking uphill or doing any exercise. Underneath the mask, it’s warm and sweaty in the sun. It’s also much harder to read expressions and to express yourself in conversation wearing masks. Isn’t it amazing how much we rely on seeing the movement of someone’s mouth to understand their words and meaning in conversation? Especially when they are soft-spoken or there’s a lot of background noise.

Now a full year after many of us started wearing masks regularly, I can still whisk the dog out for a walk, forgetting to bring one. That’s annoying too, having to turn around to get one or deciding to walk later (and getting caught up in work and not doing it). It reminds me of how long it took me to create the habit of bringing my own grocery bags to the store. The answer: A year! At least until it became consistent. (I’m relearning that one again because of the pandemic.)

But I wear my mask—as does my family—for the sake of others and ourselves. There’s also social pressure. At least where we live, you wouldn’t dream of being seen walking around town without a mask. So, even though I’ve been vaccinated, I still dawn one of several masks now in my collection. It’s become a symbol of caring and community.

And, yes, I have a growing collection. Okay. It’s true, for me at least. Having masks that look and feel nice helps. Nothing wrong with a healthy sense of vanity, I say!

Masks in Vogue

In our consumer-driven world, fashion masks are now available everywhere. We’re a long way from the DIY ones we made from folded scrap fabric and rubber bands in April 2020 or the home-sewn masks kind friends made for us and for medical workers when there was a shortage.

Now, in spring 2021, you can purchase a mask that matches your outfit, that displays the logo of your favorite sports team or band, that features artwork by Van Gough, Vermeer or Klimt. You can get them decorated with dogs, cats or gerbils, tiger stripes, patterns and flowers, meaningful sayings and other people’s faces. They are reversible, clear, adorned with jewels, sequins and lace, washable or disposable. (Side note: That’s another issue: the recyclability of disposable masks. Do they just end up in landfill?)

The Mask’s Silver Lining

Not only can you find masks with silver linings, they do present some in the figurative sense. 

Countering the annoying aspects of mask-wearing, I have noticed several wonderful fringe-benefits. The social graces I was taught as a child has me smiling and acknowledging virtually everyone around me. Behind a mask in the grocery store, I have more of a choice of whether I interact with strangers. I certainly have saved money on lip gloss. If I have forgotten to brush my teeth, between the mask and social distancing, bad breath is NOT an issue!

Most importantly, no one in our household has been sick for over a year. That’s amazing! With active social children (and adults) in our house, someone was always bringing home a cold before 2020 then spreading it around generously. We’re huggers.

Thus, the question: 

Are masks here to stay?

Will I continue to wear a mask, at least on occasion, after the pandemic is behind us?

Because not everyone will get vaccinated, the coronavirus and its variants will continue to be a risk. I’m assuming we’ll get a shot for it every year, along with the flu shot, possibly for the rest of my lifetime. But what about going to a crowded movie theater once they’re open again? Will people wear masks to protect from just getting sick in general? Will I feel comfortable wearing one if the general population isn’t? 

I’ve been a regular hand-washer since I taught public school back in the 90s, but that isn’t enough to keep germs away. The combination of clean hands, social distancing and masks—that apparently does the trick. Social distancing—that’s not going to happen ongoing with friends and family. No way! Like I said, we’re huggers.

Are there models of mask-wearing elsewhere?

Long before Covid 19, we, here in the U.S., saw images in the media of people in China wearing masks. Masks became compulsory in 2002 during the SARS outbreak. They only became mandatory again in China in February 2020 (until around August 2020). In between then, mask-wearing has not been required, but since SARS, social acceptability of masks has been firmly set in place. Citizens of Shanghai and other countries like Taiwan sometimes choose to wear masks during winter when colds are common or if pollution levels are high. Some Philippine motorcycle riders wear masks to deflect vehicular exhausts in heavy traffic. 

In Tokyo, Japan, even back in the 1980s (and as early as the 1950s), people have been wearing medical masks out on the street. The Japanese generally wear them when they are sick, to protect others from getting their germs. The Japanese, to this day, have a cultural tendency to be polite and group-minded. One is expected to wear a mask if sick, and it is considered extremely selfish not to. It is considered a civic duty.

Masked in the U.S.A.

But what will happen in the U.S., “land of the free,” the republic, where independence is ingrained in our culture? And where social image is highly valued, for better or worse.

Personally, I kind of like the idea of wearing a mask to protect others if I have a cold. And having the freedom to wear one to protect myself. I hope it will be “socially acceptable” to do so. It feels like a luxury now to lower my mask in any public place, on a restaurant patio or hiking on a trail, and it would be nice to not wear it at times.

Yet, I imagine being in a crowd of people for a party or event or concert, knowing I am going on vacation in the days following or about to meet with an elderly client. Wearing a mask could keep me from being sick and allow me to keep my plans. And I can do so in my Ruth Bader Ginsberg mask or a Picasso print or a patterned mask that complements my shirt and jeans or one that lights up to the beat of the music! 

         I guess we’ll have to put on our masks for now and wait and see!