The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication

Douglas Kelley

doi:10.29333/ajqr/8712

Douglas Kelley ¹ ^*

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 4, Issue 3, pp. 111-130

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712

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Abstract

This autoethnographic exploration examines my seven-month experience wearing a mask after a stem cell transplant, October, 2019. The telling of my story includes the cancer-based context in which I began to wear a mask and a concentration on the interactions, behaviors, and happenings that occurred to me while mask-wearing. Although I make note of experiences during the COVID-19 crisis, most of the happenings from which I draw occurred pre-COVID. The focus of my reflections throughout the essay is given to identity de/reconstruction through the emotional experience that has in many ways defined my mask-wearing journey. Central ideas that are encountered throughout my story are victim/patient syndrome, isolation, dehumanization, disability bias, monitoring fatigue, sanctuary, and intimacy.

Keywords: Cancer, COVID, Dehumanization, Identity, Isolation, Masks.

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Citation

Kelley, D. (2020). The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 4(3), 111-130. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712

Kelley, D. (2020). The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 4(3), pp. 111-130. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712

Kelley D. The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2020;4(3), 111-130. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712

Kelley, Douglas. "The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2020 4 no. 3 (2020): 111-130. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712

Kelley, Douglas "The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 4, no. 3, 2020, pp. 111-130. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712

Kelley D. The Person Within the Mask: Mask-Wearing, Identity, and Communication. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2020;4(3):111-30. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8712