You Look Uglier Under There!

Having started several new jobs since the implementation of mask-mandates, I became aware of an interesting social tendency. When meeting new people in places where masks are always required, the mind tends to wonder, "what is under the mask?"

I noticed something beyond just the ordinary question of what features some person's lower face is comprised of. I will break my observation down, in the simplest form, with my hypothesis of why exactly this occurs, using my own experiences as the primary example.

The first environment I noticed the trend was in a restaurant I began serving at during COVID, when masks were worn at all times excluding eating or drinking in a designated location. I started working alongside other servers with various backgrounds, and while piecing together aspects of their personalities, I began to form an idea of how they looked under the mask.

Without realizing it, every time I spoke to a coworker, I was shaping their mouths nose and jaw in my mind to match the person I thought them to be. Visually, it was not as tangible as I may be describing. In fact, I find it nearly impossible to recognize that this is taking place in my mind.

However, I can be almost certain I am doing this when I do get to see what is under the mask. When I could catch a glimpse of someone's full face while they were taking a food break, or got off work and took their mask off, instead of seeing their face in a normal way, I was always shocked! They look worse than I imagined!

Why could this be? And why did it happen each time? My hypothesis is this: when we are only able to view eyes for an extended period of time, our brains naturally compose an image of a flawless face to match. Our imagination allows us to basically create a filtered face in our minds matching the way we view their personality. Then, when the mask comes off, and the person reveals even the tiniest of "flaws", such as a gap in their teeth, acne, maybe a crooked nose, or even lips that are bigger or smaller than imagines, we are surprised!

Because we have already began the process of getting to know this person, and storing their information in our brain, we create an image that is easiest and most effortless to produce. Although I cannot actually visualize this image, I know it is happening because when the person takes their mask off- whether conventionally beautiful or not- my first reaction is, "that is not what I expected..."

To reinforce this concept, I also get the same feedback when I take my mask off around someone who has known me for a bit without seeing my full face.

I have gotten responses like, "wow you have small lips!" or "oh, it is not what I was expecting."

Of course, I viewed this as an undeniably rude comment on my appearance at first. I even began to develop an issue with self-esteem and a reluctancy to take my mask off around new people, when typically I am a confident person in the way I appear.

To combat this insecurity, I began subtly flashing my true face when meeting someone. Although silly, it allowed me to further investigate my observation.

This effect of being surprised to see what is underneath the mask leads our brains to believe the person is uglier than maybe we would have thought if we met them first without the mask. If our brains are constantly putting together "perfect" images of new friends during the pandemic, then when true faces are revealed, they can seem uglier to us.

I noticed, however, this false-ugly-opinion-effect does wear off with exposure to the real face. More time spent socially distanced with new coworkers, without masks, lead to me realizing how beautiful and unique their faces really are. It was such a relief to know I wasn't actually walking around thinking everyone was less beautiful than they truly are. My true positive opinions came later, when I could clearly view my new friends for who they are!

Perhaps this is a known psychological or scientific fact of human nature, but I find it to be interesting that we can observe real-life sociological changes in society right in front of us. This pandemic has brought new topics of research and development tools. For sociologists and psychologists alike, this is a truly revealing time for fieldwork and experiential observations. We are living history in the making, whether it be "good" history or "bad."

Next time you meet someone with their mask on, notice your initial bias. What is the go-to standard image you project on them? Who is this masked acquaintance who lives in your head? When they take their mask off, is it surprising or perhaps "uglier" than you thought?

I am not an expert in science, psychology, or sociology. This is an amateur opinion piece about an observation using personal anecdotes. I am an undergraduate student studying sociology, and find social interactions within a pandemic interesting and worth studying. If you would like to support my studies, feel free to leave a tip. Thank you!