Masks could become a thing for dating

[paloftoon]

Women Don’t Want to Give Up Masks, and Go Back to Catcalls
For socializing and for dating maybe, masks could become a new norm. I could see people in our community wanting to do this even if no one else is doing it.

One could even say we're afraid of diseases even if the real reason is that we want to stay more concealed.

To the general public, that's okay. But to people that have earned your close friendship, you need to be able to take those trust leaps and tell them how you really feel.

 

[GadAbout]

Masking has a double meaning for the autistic community. In one sense it means a self-protective technique for "fitting in," often at great energy expense. In another sense it means masks you don during a pandemic! It took me a moment to figure out what kind of masking you meant. Actually, I'm still not sure!

 

[Mary Terry]

Women Don’t Want to Give Up Masks, and Go Back to Catcalls
For socializing and for dating maybe, masks could become a new norm. I could see people in our community wanting to do this even if no one else is doing it.

One could even say we're afraid of diseases even if the real reason is that we want to stay more concealed.

To the general public, that's okay. But to people that have earned your close friendship, you need to be able to take those trust leaps and tell them how you really feel.

I never thought it was my face that attracted catcalls. The territories that prompt catcalls are located below my face. LOL

 

[paloftoon]

I was thinking of physical masks. But, in our case, I was also implying behavioral masking without realizing it!

 

[Qoyote]

I like how physical masks hide what your mouth is doing. It's gonna be hard to give that up.

 

[Aspychata]

Like that my face is hidden. I feel safe some how. Like those woman required to cover their face.

 

[Crossbreed]

This thread reminds me of the "Butter Face" trope seen in some Tex Avery cartoons.
It shows a curvaceous, veiled woman. Then she removes her veil...

 

[Major Tom]

I can't stand masks, but I think they are a fact of life now. Hopefully in a few years I'll get used to it. I have a fairly large beard and look like a porcupine wearing a mask haha.

 

[Varzar]

I'd be surprised if masks stuck around much in north american culture. I just don't see our cultures adopting them even to the extent asia uses them. But, I guess we'll see.

The one place I do think they should stick around though (and should have been there before covid) is on planes and in airports. Mitigating spread from passenger to passenger would probably do a lot for limiting spread of a new contagion worldwide. And if we can limit a contagion's travel, it'll be a lot easier to deal with.

 

[Qoyote]

I'd be surprised if masks stuck around much in north american culture.

I think they'll be a painful memory and most people will drop them as soon as they feel safe. They might stick around as a metaphor for anything people felt in the pandemic.

 

[ForestGumpett]

I can't stand masks, but I think they are a fact of life now. Hopefully in a few years I'll get used to it. I have a fairly large beard and look like a porcupine wearing a mask haha.

Too funny!

My husband also used the mask to “hold his beard in place” lol. Yeah they don’t work much with beards. I had my medical bracelet that was my “pass” so to speak with the asthma and copd, but I kept one on if I went out just cause I like to stay gray lady and not be noticed.

I hate them, and with the covid smaller than the holes in the mask have thought it was a false safety at the price of allowing the one’s that lord over us to see just what they could get by with. Apparently a lot.

 

[Crossbreed]

To the general public, that's okay. But to people that have earned your close friendship, you need to be able to take those trust leaps and tell them how you really feel.

Practice safe osculation...!

 

[Varzar]

I think they'll be a painful memory and most people will drop them as soon as they feel safe. They might stick around as a metaphor for anything people felt in the pandemic.

After the 1918 pandemic mask restrictions were lifted, people celebrated by throwing their masks on the ground and stomping on them. I would not surprised to see that happen again this time around.

 

[Major Tom]

After the 1918 pandemic mask restrictions were lifted, people celebrated by throwing their masks on the ground and stomping on them. I would not surprised to see that happen again this time around.

I wouldn't either, but I doubt unless they are seriously overplaying the situation, that there will ever be an end to covid.(It has been around for ages in different forms).There are too many variants already and the current vaccinations only protect you from one of them.

 

[Crossbreed]

There are too many variants already and the current vaccinations only protect you from one of them.

^This^
But there are some in development that (if successful) will offer broader protection. We are waiting for those.

COVID-19 – VLA2001 – Valneva

PiCoVacc vaccine candidate for COVID-19 effective in animal trials

 

[Varzar]

I wouldn't either, but I doubt unless they are seriously overplaying the situation, that there will ever be an end to covid.(It has been around for ages in different forms).There are too many variants already and the current vaccinations only protect you from one of them.

I guess we'll have to see on that one. I have a more optimistic outlook on that.

My understanding is that despite there being a number of variants, the current vaccines still provide reasonable levels of protection.
Also, it seems to me that despite the highly publicized "variants of concern", it's still mutating fairly slowly.
Take influenza as a comparison. It mutates so fast we need a new vaccine yearly, and even then we're only guessing what strains "might" show up.
Covid has now been around over a year, and the vaccines we developed are still working, even relatively well with the variants. So it seems like a low probability to me that this will become and "endemic pandemic" like the flu is.

Anyways. I have a couple other reasons I'm optimistic, but don't want to make this into a novel. lol
Time will tell.