The Racial Politics of Mask Wearing: A Conversation with Dr. Jasmin Zine - Ep. 7

“The article I’ve written is to contrast the way in which masks are worn by racialized bodies versus the privilege that goes along with mask wearing if you are white where you don’t need to think about that, you don’t need to think about how people are going to perceive me if I’m wearing a mask” (10:10)

Across Canada, many major cities have declared that mask wearing is mandatory in indoor public spaces as an attempt to slow the spread of Covid19. Toronto and Peel launched this bylaw on July 7th, and the region of Kitchener/Waterloo is set to role this out on July 13th. Although an important stride made in regards to public health, what does this mean for racialized groups who face prejudice and societal discrimination because they are following mask protocol? Dr. Jasmin Zine, a professor of Sociology and Muslim Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, is looking into just this. We sat down and talked to her about the racial politics of mask wearing, and how racialized citizens are affected by this.

Full Music Credit:

Loopster by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4991-loopster

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/