Neo-liberalism
involves extending and disseminating market values to all institutions and
social action. Not surprisingly in such times, this even encompasses our ideas
of self-hood and identity. It defines who
we are, what are our tastes, and hence what we buy. This means that by choosing
certain products over others, we are exercising our judgement of taste through
which we identify ourselves in a particular class, background, etc. (Paterson
2006).[i] Lifestyles
express our identity and social location. Hence, our choice of consumption is
connected with the paradox of ‘need’ and ‘desire’.
According
to Collin Campbell, although individuals in everyday conversations use both the
terms interchangeably, the distinction is clear among consumers. Consumers in
modern societies expect continuous change, consequently trying to improve one’s
lifestyle (Campbell 1998).[ii] As
such, with consumption being an uttermost priority, commodities are considered
to have their symbolic meaning. Commodities in a consumer period are not just
mere objects of production or exchange. They are also markers of nationalism, cultural
identities, social solidarity, and class distinctions.
Amidst
the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, new terminologies, practices, and products have
entered our lives. As the news of pandemic spread out, medical stores ran out
of hand sanitizers and face masks. Websites, WhatsApp messages, news channels,
and advertisements began sharing information on the different kinds of masks that
can be useful. While masks were used earlier in few metropolitan cities in
India due to pollution, they were not household items until the pandemic. In
the early days of the crisis, people were not fully aware of the function of
masks. But they bought masks.
In
the fourth phase of lock down, people have started believing it to be a part of the
‘new normal’. As people slowly get back to work, the idea has seeped in that the
new rules of social distancing, hygiene, and permanent usage of a mask will
define the new ‘normal’.
Life
has changed. Each person one meets is a possible COVID-19 positive suspect.
While one has been trying to adapt to these new circumstances, it is
significant to locate how the pandemic crisis brought a new product - the face
mask to the consumer market and the fashion world.
Mask
that was sold as an essential product in the very beginning of the pandemic now
has turned into a fashion statement and a symbol of collective identity. After
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for ‘Local to Global’ in the wake
of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan[iii],
the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) announced the decision to export
Khadi face masks in different colors.[iv]
Similarly,
in Assam the traditional Gamosa which is a decorative cotton towel
evolved from being a memento to mask. With the crisis of masks, few NGOs as
well as women from different parts of Assam took the initiative to design masks
that looks traditional, affordable as well as become a marker of cultural identity.
Here, one can examine how classical sociologist Emile Durkheim in his work Division
of Labor underlined the new forms of social solidarity that emerges to
restore social order in modern society.
Durkheim posits a level of social solidarity that
underpins capitalist markets, allowing them to function. There had to be a
social element that stood behind individual contracts consisting of ‘common
sets of rules, of moral obligations, [and] of institutions, governing the
actions of men in the community. Social solidarity is the moral glue that binds
individuals to their places in modern society rather than naked self-interest (Allen
and O’Boyle 2017).[v]
A man donning a mask made of gold
Source: India Today
Khadi
has always been a visual symbol of nationalism or Swadeshi. Since India’s National Movement, Khadi was used
a mark of opposition towards foreign goods. Being a hallmark of India’s
identity, Khadi fabric masks were made to be distributed among soldiers
fighting in the border, in rural areas as well as COVID-19 volunteers.[vi]
Similarly,
in Assam, Gamusa was always used both as a symbol of cultural symbol to
political symbol. From wearing a Gamusa around the neck to symbolize
cultural identity to using it during the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985 as a
marker of protest, Gamusa has been quite significant.[vii]
As such, during this present crisis, the trend of making the Gamusa mask
became popular as it is easily accessible, cheap and a commodity everyone can
relate to. While in every Bohag Bihu, Gamusa is gifted to relatives and
friends as a token of love and respect, this year it was ‘Gamusa mask’
that made the news. Thus, Khadi or a Gamusa face mask as a trending
commodity became a result of a romance between nationalist imagination and
popular culture. In Durkheimian terms, the consumption of these national
symbols in the form of masks created a form of social consciousness among
individuals to showcase their patriotism and belongingness towards their
country and countrymen. In consequence, these masks not only keep the political
meaning intact but also brings out a new space where it can be interpreted and
practiced in our everyday life.
On
the other side, fashion designers all over the world are coming out with
branded masks ‘turning the new necessity into a form of self-expression’.
According to the Economic Times,
Designer Chrys Wong
of the new, sustainability-focused label Maison Modulare released a
‘collection’ of luxury masks on her website, ranging from $18 for simple,
printed cotton styles to $120 for one made of three layers of French lace
(currently sold out). The California blue jeans brand Citizens of Humanity is
selling five packs of cotton masks for $25 (one in denim, of course) while
brand Kes is offering them in silk.[viii]
Thus, wearing a mask in the future will not just be a response to an alien threat but also about feeling confident, smart, and assured. Most designers have focused on designing a mask that people actually want to wear - something aesthetically pleasing and fun way to accessorize[ix]. As such, with intense penetration of capitalist markets through media institutions, economic exchanges depend on one’s lifestyle values, desires, and aspirations. According to Manuel Castells, technological revolution centering on information technologies has reshaped the material basis of the society (Castells 2010).[x]
French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in his classic work Distinction[xi] illuminates the situation of the middle class in the modern world. He focuses here on the French bourgeoisie, its tastes, and preferences. In the course of everyday life people constantly choose between what they find aesthetically pleasing and what they consider tacky, merely trendy, or ugly. Bourdieu based his study on surveys that took into account the multitude of social factors that play a part in a French person’s choice of clothing, furniture, leisure activities, dinner menus for guests, and many other matters of taste. What emerges from his analysis is that social snobbery is everywhere in the bourgeois world. ‘Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifier. Social subjects, classified by their classifications, distinguish themselves by the distinctions they make…’[xii] I would like to argue that story of the mask amidst COVID-19 in India is no different.
In this context it will be interesting to analyze the future of the mask in India. With all the big Fashion Houses in India from Anita Dogre to House of Masaba are coming out with designer re-usable masks[xiii], it will be crucial for sociologists to see if there will be an evolution of masks from ‘need satisfaction’ today to ‘desire satisfaction’[xiv] tomorrow.
[i] Paterson, Mark. (2006). Consumption and Everyday Life. New York: Routledge.
[ii] Campbell, Collin. (1998). Consumption and Rhetoric of Need and Want. Journal of Design History. 3: 235-246.
[iii] https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/narendra-modi-coronavirus-economic-package-india-self-reliance-6406939/, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[iv] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/garments-/-textiles/khadi-face-masks-may-soon-hit-foreign-markets/articleshow/75871914.cms?from=mdr, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[v] Allen, Kieran and O’Boyle, Brian. (2017). Durkheim: A Critical Introduction. Pluto Press.
[vi] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/the-power-of-khadi-hand-woven-masks-help-protect-against-covid-19-boost-courage-to-fight/story-wfc0JZleSeGfA4DPc4oQQJ.html, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[vii] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/gamosa-evolves-from-memento-to-mask-in-assam/article31301183.ece, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[viii] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/fashion-in-the-time-of-covid-19-luxury-masks-made-of-silk-de-chine-cotton-poplin-go-mainstream/articleshow/75139536.cms, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[ix] https://www.healthline.com/health-news/face-masks-as-a-fashion-accessory-why-we-should-encourage-this-trend#Functional-and-fashionable, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[x] Castells, Manuel. (2010). The Rise of the Network Society. UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
[xi] Bourdieu, Pierre. (2010). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Milton Street: Routledge.
[xii] https://web.stanford.edu/class/think53/bourdieu17.pdf.
[xiii] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/designers/indias-top-designers-anita-dongre-and-masaba-gupta-set-to-produce-masks-to-fight-against-coronavirus/articleshow/75181861.cms, accessed on 21st May 2020.
[xiv] See Collin Campbell’s notion of ‘need’ and ‘want’.
***
Pratisha
Borborah is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Cotton
University, Guwahati.
Nice.
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