The mask protects against Covid-19 and could also have another advantage: to make men’s faces more attractive. Explanations.
- Surgical or cloth masks protect others by limiting the excretion of macro droplets, which may contain a virus.
- The FFP2 mask both filters the inspired air and protects the person wearing it and those by their side.
What if wearing the mask made men more beautiful? This is the question that researchers from the University of Cardiff, Wales, wanted to answer. For this, they asked 43 women, aged 18 to 24, to rate the beauty of different men with and without a mask. As a result, these scored higher when hidden. The study was published in the journal Cognitive Research last January 10.
Surgical masks work better
“Our study suggests that faces are considered most attractive when covered with surgical masks,” explained Michael Lewis, one of the authors of the study to the British newspaper The Guardian. In detail, the men were evaluated first with a cloth mask, then surgical, then with a simple black notebook in front of the lower part of their face and, finally, with nothing at all. According to the results, the women preferred them with the surgical mask.
“Perhaps it is because we are used to caregivers wearing blue masks and now associate them with people in medical or care professions. At a time when one feels vulnerable, one may find wearing medical masks reassuring and thus feel more positive towards the wearer”developed Michael Lewis.
A physical and psychological aspect
To explain these results, Michael Lewis hypothesized. According to the researcher, it is not the wearing of the mask in itself that makes men more attractive but the fact that women focus more on their gaze. Also, subconsciously, the hidden part of the face is imagined by the brain, usually in favor of the person being watched. Last argument that could explain this surprising result: the researcher estimated that “The pandemic has changed the way we perceive people who wear a mask. When you see someone wearing a mask, you no longer think ‘this person has a disease, I have to stay away’ “.
The author of the study specified that one of the limits of this study was the small number of participating women, who do not necessarily represent the opinion of all women.
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