Mask Culture: Healthy Faces of Modernity

by Ole Doering

In the beginning， there were just faces. As humanity emerged， we connected and formed social relations by interacting with the living matter around the eyes and mouth. The fine lines of facial expressions send messages of affection and grief and determine situations in terms of mood or propriety. We employ sensitivity to expand social interfaces. We can read faces， and then manipulation sets in and we try to control our expressions. By mastering cosmetics， nuances can be emphasized or muted with an extra stroke here， a dot there， or an artful shade. The moist glittering of open eyes shows a person is alive.

Sometimes， it is improper to exhibit the face， mouth， or eyes to others. In that case， glasses come in handy， or a beard， long hair， and a piece of cloth. Materials can mitigate the immediate intimacy of human contact. Such devices introduce structure into open space， provide distance， allow space to breathe， position ourselves， and establish a perspective to negotiate our eyes in relation to one another. We want to keep face， not necessarily a mugshot.

In the summer of 2019， I was having lunch with two philosopher colleagues in Hong Kong. While enjoying a breathtaking birds-eye view across Victoria Harbor， our discussion inadvertently turned to the social abyss that was building below us， where political unrest had been continuing for several weeks. We argued over what it means to wear a face mask—four months before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19. Only after the pandemic broke out did I realize that not much of what I knew about masks would endure a test of cross-cultural enquiry.

Partial face masks have been a common sight in certain East Asian locales for decades. Orally transmitted diseases including strains of the flu and SARS struck the region. Population density and individual susceptibility made it prudent for citizens to don face masks， mainly for health reasons. After my earlier years in Western Europe characterized by clean air environments and with low prevalence of respiratory worries， except for tobacco or vocational hazards， wearing face masks around struck me as odd， somehow overdone. My education as a political citizen had kindled an image of masks in the public sphere as emblematic for state force and violent protest. Since the 1970s， German authorities have required everyone to show their faces to qualify for legitimate democratic expression. Laws have often been enforced against facial disguises in public spaces.