The Eroticism of the Face Mask

The COVID-19 pandemic has made wearing face masks in public a near constant for most of the world going on more than a year now.  The Asians have long known and practiced mask-wearing as a means of preventing community spread—of giving or catching airborne illnesses.  Now we all do.

But I am finding a curious by-product.  I am finding women wearing face masks beguiling, bewitching, and altogether appealing.

Muslim women have been wearing veils for other reasons for centuries.  That is a topic in its own right, and one that has troubled me.  This time it is different because we all have to wear them.  But I am reminded of something a middle eastern friend said to me one time about how the veil did not hide the beauty of a woman, but instead brought it out.  

And I find myself looking at a woman’s eyes much more, at the shape and curve of her eyebrows, and finding yes, the eyes are supremely erotic.  Yes, they are quite possibly the windows to her soul.

More women seem beautiful to me than before.  I may dislike masks, but they are adding to mystery as they become commonplace.  Does anyone else feel this way?

I have also found that to tell a woman she has beautiful eyes at the checkout counter in the supermarket, or at the check-in desk at the airport is almost always to delight and surprise her.  This is the hidden joy of mask-wearing.

And you know what, most women have really beautiful eyes.  And beautiful souls.  And mostly they appreciate being told so.