No, Face Masks Aren’t Dehumanizing
| Author | Stephen M Utych |
| Published date | 01 August 2021 |
| Date | 01 August 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929921993764 |
| Subject Matter | Early Results |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929921993764
Political Studies Review
2021, Vol. 19(3) 528 –535
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1478929921993764
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
No, Face Masks Aren’t
Dehumanizing
Stephen M Utych
Abstract
Wearing facial coverings has become a key element in the fight against COVID-19. However,
deep partisan divisions have arisen over the adoption of face masks, with Democrats more
supportive than Republicans in the United States. Among opponents, a common argument is
that facial coverings serve to dehumanize the wearer. Using an experimental study, I find no
evidence, using a nationally diverse US sample, that face masks are dehumanizing, whether worn
by a White or Black person. In addition, I test for moderation by partisanship, which shows a lack
of dehumanizing effects and provides some suggestive evidence that face masks can humanize the
wearer, for Democrats, though these effects are small. Under no circumstances do I find evidence
that face masks dehumanize the wearer, even among Republican respondents.
Keywords
COVID-19, dehumanization, partisanship, face masks, race
Accepted: 21 January 2021
As wearing a facial mask has become common practice in the fight against the spread of
COVID-19, substantial backlash has occurred from a portion of the population opposed
to mandatory and widespread mask wearing. One common complaint from opponents of
mask wearing is the idea that face masks are dehumanizing, with opponents saying, ‘I
don’t want to talk to a mask’ (Healy, 2020). These arguments have even been used by
companies to sell their modified, clear facial coverings.1 Even medical professionals
share these concerns, taking effort to create humanizing portraits on personal protective
equipment for COVID-19 first responders (Brown-Johnson et al., 2020). These concerns
may be well founded – prior to the COVID-19 crisis, medical professionals wearing face
masks were perceived as less empathetic (Wong et al., 2013). Despite these concerns,
there is little empirical evidence to suggest that face masks serve to dehumanize during
the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, I use validated scales of dehumanization to show
that facial coverings do not exert a dehumanizing effect, and, indeed, may have a small
humanizing effect, under certain conditions, among respondents from the United States.
Department of Political Science, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
Corresponding author:
Stephen M Utych, Boise State University, 1910 W University Drive, MS 1935, Boise, ID 83725, USA.
Email: stephenutych@boisestate.edu
993764PSW0010.1177/1478929921993764Political Studies ReviewUtych
research-article2021
Early Results
To continue reading
Request your trial