HomeBehind the mask: the social and communicational impact of respiratory protection equipment
Behind the mask: the social and communicational impact of respiratory protection equipment
Derrière le masque. Enjeux sociaux et communicationnels des dispositifs de protection respiratoire
“Revue des sciences sociales” (n° 74/2025)
« Revue des sciences sociales » (n° 74/2025)
Published on Wednesday, April 03, 2024
Abstract
The aim of this issue is to explore the various social and communicational dimensions of protective respiratory mask wearing by highlighting the changes the usage has undergone over time, and the practices and discourses it has generated in a variety of socio-historical situations.
Announcement
Argument
This issue will look at experiences of respiratory protection mask wearing. The practice, which aims at protecting the body from inhaling toxic dust, pathogenic agents, smoke, vapours, or gases, has a long and complex social, cultural and technical history characterized by disagreement and controversy (Canu 2022; Strasser, Schlich 2020; Schlich, Strasser 2022). Certain professional categories who encounter toxic substances such as painters, welders, firemen, military staff, miners, and health workers, as well as DIY enthusiasts, have always used masks to protect their nose and mouth. During the COVID 19 pandemic, mask wearing was quickly integrated into people’s lives and evolved beyond its initial role of sanitary protection. It acquired a symbolic dimension and became a media object that expresses values and convictions.
The aim of this issue is to explore the various social and communicational dimensions of protective respiratory mask wearing by highlighting the changes the usage has undergone over time, and the practices and discourses it has generated in a variety of socio-historical situations.
During the COVID 19 pandemic, several researchers in the social and human sciences (Cochoy et al. 2022; Daniau, Mallard 2023, Fiorentino, Terracciano 2022 ; Lardellier 2022 ; Lupton et al. 2021) put forward analyses and research on the physical and sociotechnical issues raised by the wearing of masks during physical exercise (Lebreton et al. 2021), but the aim of this issue of the Revue des Sciences Sociales is to examine the different functions that have been attributed to this equipment, from its use as individual sanitary protection tool to the more complex role it has played in social, ideological and political debates. By creating a better understanding of these aspects, this issue aims to propose a close analysis of the social implications of mask wearing, beyond the context of the COVID 19 pandemic.
We invite papers based on case studies and solid empirical research, along one of the three following thematic axes:
Changing practices, norms, and imaginaries
Firstly, contributions could reach into the past and take a diachronic view of how practices, norms, and imaginaries around mask wearing have evolved (for instance, the 17th century bird masks to protect oneself from the miasma of the plague, the masks used during the Spanish influenza epidemic, or gas protection equipment used in contexts of war, etc.). The object has had a variety of functions over time, depending on the context of epidemics and evolutions in professional practices, whether in the health sector or in other situations. Masks are the ultimate barrier against the propagation of viruses or the assimilation of harmful substances and have been used in different ways and served to support a variety of social representations.
An in-depth exploration of choices in reusage, recycling and, on the opposite side, an examination of the advantages of “single use” masks would be particularly relevant. Indeed, the economic, ecological, and logistic issues involved in choosing a mask are pertinent since these choices are closely linked to issues of health and sociability.
Public policies that regulate the use of respiratory masks could also be put into question from a normative perspective. This would involve analysing the processes that produce these norms (the actors who formulate them, the institutions that implement them, and the contexts in which they are established), the way they are communicated (target groups and deployment), and how they are applied (control and monitoring methods, sanctions and expected results).
We also aim to study and question the narratives on mask wearing (whether fictional or documentary) in their different formats (writing, photography, video, cartoons) and in the various media (social media, general press, professional press, weblogs, radio) by amateurs, artists, or professional media players such as journalists, photographers, and film directors.
From innovation to integration
Masks and respirators can also be examined as artifacts produced through sociotechnical innovations that aim to satisfy needs emanating from social observation, scientific research or official regulations linked to public health, ecology, or productivity. Contributions can address the production chain, more specifically the processes by which masks are designed, manufactured, mass produced and publicly advertised, and which involve both private companies and initiatives taken by citizens, individuals or groups (Trigeau 2021). The question of innovation could therefore also be asked as to how masks are designed or “home-made” and how citizens participate (Bosqué 2021). We hope to receive proposals on mask wearing at work, both from a historical perspective and in a contemporary context.
Another relevant aspect is the global circulation of masks and the commercial competition generated by sanitary, economic, and ecological criteria. We would therefore also welcome proposals that analyse phenomena of creativity and fashion brought on by mask wearing (different colours and prints, customised masks), taking a comparative or multi-situational approach to cover various geographical areas.
In this issue we would also like to take into consideration the problem of the social and cultural acceptability of the object (Chagnon et al. 2023). The idea is to analyse processes of acceptance, integration or refusal of the changes brought on by this invasive and often uncomfortable equipment. Opposition movements, such as the anti-mask movement, which have been observed among political activists and caregivers alike, will also constitute a research interest. Indeed, these movements and the way they are regulated, specifically inside health institutions, have given rise to a large production of professional and media discourse. They have also led to discourses of justification whose stances and arguments can be analysed.
On the one hand, the aim is to analyse how masks become parts of the body, to the point of not feeling like they are an exterior object anymore. We invite case studies on the experience of mask wearing by certain categories of the population and/or specific professional communities, in various national and/or cultural contexts, which will allow us to question processes of appropriation in particular social contexts. The question of the efficient uses of masks would also be an interesting angle to explore. Beyond norms and injunctions, wearing a mask leads to heterogenous practices that are adapted to their context (at work, during sports, at home, in public transports, in certain weather conditions, …) and to constraints on individuals in certain situations (temperature, feelings, institutional environment and frequency of the interactions), and on people with whom we interact.
On the other hand, authors are also invited to delve into the ways in which deviant uses of masks have changed it from respiratory protection equipment to an object of self-awareness and self-affirmation. Moreover, when masks are imposed, specifically in a context of a sanitary crisis, they collide with the legal prohibition against covering once face in public spaces, and today we observe how respiratory masks are being used to circumvent this legal injunction. In this volume, we would therefore also like to highlight these deviant uses of masks for purposes of identity, politics, religion, or ideology, which subvert the primary function of respiratory masks and can sometimes lead to an alignment with the norms and laws that regulate their use.
Communicating and interacting with a respiratory mask
We also encourage the submission of papers that take and anthropological approach to mask wearing by examining the techniques of the bodies that deal with the materiality of the object. Such contributions might analyse how respiratory mask wearing affects corporeality, interpersonal communication, and interactions in diverse social contexts. How does mask wearing change or alter the interactions and distances between individuals? More precisely, what are the consequences of mask wearing on the auditory and visual dimensions of interpersonal communication? How are interpersonal exchanges transformed when voices are muffled, and parts of the face remain hidden? Which communication strategies (use of the voice, distancing, body language) are adopted in those situations?
Mask wearing could also be related to all the techniques that allow for the distancing of bodies. This certainly applies to sanitary contexts (physical distancing movements, quarantines, isolation, …) but it also refers more generally to all the technologies that allow us to avoid contact with others. How can mask wearing be considered as an indicator of these deeper tendencies?
Finally, it would be interesting to explore the ways in which communicating and interacting with a respiratory mask modifies techniques of the body and affects social skills and relations, either by facilitating, modifying, or obstructing them, in a variety of private, public or professional environments. How does wearing a respiratory protection mask affect social dynamics and relations between individuals in school, at work or in public transport? We also encourage contributors to examine the role that mask wearing plays in the social relations of certain categories of the population, including children, adolescents, or the elderly. From a professional point of view, it would also be interesting to question the impact of mask wearing (or of not wearing a mask) on the relationship with colleagues or clients, a question that becomes even more relevant when it comes to patient-caregiver relationships in the health sector. We would therefore welcome contributions that question the way in which social relations (of gender, age, class, or race) are transformed by the presence and/or the wearing of masks.
Coordinators of the issue
Laure Bolka-Tabary, Simona De Iulio, Aurélia Lamy
GERiiCO, Université de Lille
Submission guidelines
Please send in your proposal before 20 June 2024.
Proposals should come in the shape of an abstract and should not exceed 4000 characters.
The proposal should indicate the article’s thematic axis, its theoretical framework, as well as the empirical materials, fieldwork, sources, and methodology it applies. The abstract should also include a reference bibliography (not included in the 4000 characters).
Please send your proposal to the address of the Revue des Sciences Sociales, rss@misha.fr and to the three coordinators of the issue :
- Laure Bolka Tabary: laure.bolka-tabary@univ-lille.fr
- Simona De Iulio : simona.de-iulio@univ-lille.fr
- Aurelia Lamy: aurelia.lamy@univ-lille.fr
If your proposal is accepted, the original article (maximum 40,000 characters) should be submitted before 15 October 2024.
The issue will appear during the second semester of 2025.
We ask the authors to conform with the style guide of the review, which can be consulted online at https://journals.openedition.org/revss/299.
All articles will receive a double anonymous peer revision.
Bibliography
- Bosqué C. (2021), “Design viral, le plan C. Les makers face au Covid” in Fétro, Sophie (dir.), Les Arts de faire : Acte 2 - Design du peu, pratiques ordinaires, Revue Design Arts Medias, <https://journal.dampress.org/issues/design-du-peu-pratiques-ordinaires/design-viral-le-plan-c-les-makers-face-au-covid>
- Canu R. (2022), “Histoire du masque sanitaire moderne (1850-1950)” in Cochoy F., Gaglio G., Daniau A. Le masque sanitaire sous toutes ses coutures, Paris, Armand Colin, p. 29-50.
- Daniau A., Mallard A. (2023), “Le masque sanitaire fait-il barrière au petit commerce ? Les formes du travail relationnel durant la crise pandémique,” Métropoles, 33 <http://journals.openedition.org/metropoles/10201>
- Chagnon P., Gibout C., Lebreton F. (2023), “Acceptabilité et symbolique du port du masque : contraste selon les contextes sociaux et culturels,” Journée d’étude Le masque sanitaire à l’époque du covid-19 : regards croisés en sciences humaines et sociales, Lilliad (Learning Center Innovation), Université de Lille, GERiiCO, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
- Cochoy F., Gaglio G., Daniau A. (2022), Le masque sanitaire sous toutes ses coutures, Paris, Armand Colin.
- Fiorentino G., Terracciano B. (2022), La mascherina è il messaggio. Le relazioni sociali al tempo del COVID-19, Milan, FrancoAngeli.
- Lardellier, P. (2022), S’aimer à l’ère des masques et des écrans, La Tour d’Aigues, Editions de l’aube.
- Lebreton F., Héas S., Gibout C. (2022), “Introduction : (en)jeux corporels et sociotechniques du masque barrière à usage sportif,” CORPS : Revue Interdisciplinaire, p. 203-206.
- Lupton D., Clark M., Southterton C., Watson A. (2021), The Face Mask in COVID Times, A Sociomaterial Analysis, Berlin, De Gruyter.
- Schlich T, Strasser B. J. (2022), “Making the medical mask: surgery, bacteriology, and the control of infection (1870s–1920s),” Medical History, 66, 2, p. 116-134.
- Strasser B. J., Schlich T. (2020), “A History of the Medical Mask and the Rise of Throwaway Culture,” The Lancet, <https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31207-1>
- Trigeaud S.-H. (2021), “Du quilt aux ‘masques COVID’ : l’exercice d’application des normes AFNOR relève-t-il du bricolage de fortune ou du geste de participation civile ?” Anthropologica, 63, 1, p. 1-29, <https://doi.org/10.18357/anthropologica6312021354>
Subjects
Date(s)
- Thursday, June 20, 2024
Keywords
- masque, protection respiratoire, représentation, discours, pratique
Contact(s)
- Simona De Iulio
courriel : simona [dot] de-iulio [at] univ-lille [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Virginie Córdoba-Wolff
courriel : vi [dot] wolff [at] unistra [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Behind the mask: the social and communicational impact of respiratory protection equipment », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, April 03, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/w5sk
