My husband says wearing a mask is humbling.
Maybe that's part of the reason some find it difficult.
Maybe that's part of the reason some find it difficult.
I think he's right. In many spaces, a mask is a sign of submission--to the virus and human weakness, to the common good, to government and civil authorities.
I know some seriousminded women who veil themselves (both in worship & daily life) for similar reasons. In this respect, I don't think a mask is only a mask. It is a sign of sorts.
But those who see it as a sign of cowardice or fear as missing the sign, and imo, doing so because of the modernist lens of radical individualism. (Which has also confused our understanding of masculinity.)
(Women have been veiling themselves for centuries in honor of relationship, common life, & their submission to it. These are not exclusively female callings, but our lust for unfettered freedom has made us see them as such. As such...
we tend to associate such signs as female & weak & contra masculinity when in reality they are simply signs of the individual submitting to public order.)
So I can understand why those men who've been conditioned to think their masculinity is best expressed by individualism & unfettered freedom would also struggle to wear a mask & see it as a sign of weakness.
In reality, it's more likely a sign of submission. And here in modern west, for good or bad, that's not something we're particularly good at.
(And yes, this thread has been brought to you today by the NYT's weird Christianity piece & R.R.Reno's Twitter account.)
(Also by my growing belief that the two genders are actually the individual good & the common good & that modernity is biased toward the former. But that's another thread entirely.)
