Sophie Phillips and Armineh Soorenian outline some of the access difficulties wearing face masks can pose for Disabled people, and how to account for conflicting impairments.
We are two Research Associates with different impairments, one of us has visual and speech impairments, and the other is autistic and dyspraxic. We have been reflecting on the impact that the requirement to wear face masks to work meetings, workshops, conferences, and other disability events, has had on us – both personally and professionally. Our access needs are as such that one of us needs to have her face visible for her speech to be understood and, at the same time, she needs to be able to see other people’s faces clearly to understand facial expressions better. Additionally, for one of us, wearing face masks can cause panic attack type breathing difficulty and migraine headaches. The other finds it difficult to wear a mask from a sensory perspective and to hear others talking when they are wearing a mask.
Background
The public use of face masks was introduced in early 2020 at the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, when the UK government reported the first COVID cases, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe (WHO, 2021). As such, the public were advised to use masks as part of a comprehensive strategy of precautionary measures to reduce virus transmission and save lives.
We understand wearing face masks is one of the essential protective measures to strengthen preventive hygiene. Wearing face masks offers protection against infections, making events a little safer for Disabled people to attend. We also recognise that the use of a mask alone is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection against COVID-19 and other viruses.
We know and respect that everyone needs to feel safe, comfortable, and included at work and in the academic environment. This is specifically the case when working in anti-ableist projects in Higher Education, which challenge ableist culture and systemic barriers in order to redefine disability and place Disabled people’s experiences at the centre of university policy and practice. One such project is the project we are part of, Wellcome Anti-Ableist Research Cultures (WAARC), which aims to reframe Disabled people’s recruitment and employment processes by creating/re-establishing a culture powered by the premise that disability is welcome, desirable, and a driver of productive research. We aim to address the under-recruitment of Disabled people in academia by recommending inclusive recruitment processes and flexible employment practices that meet a diverse range of needs.
WAARC involves a team of Disabled and non-disabled researchers with a range of access needs, alongside interconnected and intersectional backgrounds. Having worked in this diverse team for less than a year, we recognise that Disabled people’s various access needs at times can clash, causing frictions within a team. One such conflict is the need to wear face masks for some team members at meetings and the difficulties wearing face masks, and others wearing masks, can pose for other members. We want to share here some of the tensions we have observed in the context of requirements to wear a face mask.
Conflicting Impairments
A variety of medical conditions such as breathing difficulty (e.g., asthma or panic attacks), can make face mask wearing difficult. Face masks can have adverse impact on effective communication. It can be problematic to communicate through face masks even if they include a transparent section so that the mouth of the wearer can be seen. This can cause complexities for people with both physical and hidden disability labels, such as sensory impairments, mental health issues, neurodivergence and chronic health conditions.
Wearing face masks can be particularly challenging for people with speech impairments/differences, who rely on others being able to see their facial expressions and lips in order to be understood. Behind face masks, voices can be muffled, often exaggerating unclear speech. For similar reasons, wearing face masks can pose a great barrier for people with hearing impairments who need to be able to lip read for communication (Dadashzadeh et al., 2022; Wendel et al., 2024). Wearing face masks can be even more difficult for people with multiple co-existing impairments and health conditions, such as someone with hearing impairments and breathing conditions or migraines.
The act of wearing a face mask, placing it over the head, can also be a struggle for those with manual dexterity and other physical impairments. We do not highlight these issues with face masks to downplay the importance of masking wearing with regard to the spread of airborne germs, but to emphasise how exclusionary they may be to some Disabled people.
Feeling Exposed
After the UK Covid-19 lockdowns relaxed and then ceased, the wearing of face masks in public has significantly reduced. This means that people who wear a face mask now may feel conspicuous. However, these same feelings can extend to events where the opposite occurs (where everybody is asked to wear a face mask). Creating a distinction between face mask wearers and those who choose not to wear one,results in a process of othering and stigmatization (Thomas & White, 2023). ‘Othering’ refers to when a person feels like they don’t fit in and actively feel excluded. Hence being the only one who is not wearing a face mask in a meeting/event can lead to feeling othered. It can create the assumption that one does not care about airborne illnesses, rather than because of having difficulty wearing masks.
Information
Information about different types of face masks is not readily available. Unfamiliarity with the range of face masks that one may be instructed to wear at an event (e.g., masks labelled FFP2 and FFP3) can be anxiety provoking and lead to an unwillingness to attend. We have been to events where it was specified that each participant must bring a particular type of mask. Since wearing face masks is much less common than it was during the peak of the pandemic, obtaining face masks, especially specific types of masks, is harder.
Conclusion
In this blog we have focused on how face masks can cause access difficulties for Disabled people. Specifically, we have drawn attention to how different access needs in relation to face mask wearing can conflict, and produce stigma associated with either wearing or not wearing a mask. We believe that consideration should be paid to both those who can and cannot wear face masks, and the different accessibility needs in either case. We advocate for community events that are inclusive, where Disabled people have the choice to wear or not to wear face masks without the need for justification or feeling awkward.
By questioning, among other things, concepts of personal independence and interdependence, we call for more expansive and intersectional understandings of the disability experience of wearing face masks as shaped by multiple impairments, gender, race, culture and class. One way to create an inclusive community would be to engage in conversations about different access needs and the tensions they can produce. However uneasy and uncomfortable the discussions may be, recognising our different needs and respecting the intersectionality of our identities would help foster a community that is destigmatising at every level. Communicating about access needs could combat stigmatisation and isolation.
Others assumptions, whether perceived or real can be challenged by open dialogue. As at a recent in-person WAARC event, appropriate face masks could be readily available with an explanation as to why participants are encouraged to wear face masks, but prefaced with the understanding that wearing masks is complex. By normalising not wearing face masks and taking other measures, such as keeping social distance, our work and meeting environments can become more welcoming to Disabled people with a range of impairments.
About the authors
Armineh Soorenian (@ASoorenian) has worked across academia, third and public sector as a Disabled researcher doing critical disability research, her research interests include, disability arts and representations, employment, intersectionality, inclusive education, and inclusive research. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ihuman/who-we-are/armineh-soorenian
Sophie Phillips (@Soph_Phillips32) is a Disabled researcher working in the field of critical disability studies. Her research interests include autism in the academy and employment. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ihuman/who-we-are/sophie-phillips
References
Dadashzadeh, Nima., Taimaz Larimian, Ulysse Levifve and Rok Marsetic. 2022. ‘Travel Behaviour of Vulnerable Social Groups: Pre, during, and Post COVID-19 Pandemic.’ International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19: e10065. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610065
Thomas, Gareth and Lauren White. 2023. ‘Unmasked: COVID-19, Face Coverings, and Navigating Dis/Abling Spaces and Cultures.’ Space and Culture 26(3): 296-308. https://doi.org/10.1177/12063312231181521
Wendel, Carrie., Randi Christine Gray, Kelsey Goddard, and Jean P. Hall. 2024. ‘Navigating new normals: the influence of COVID-19 policies on community access and well-being of people with mobility disabilities in everyday life.’ Frontiers in Public Health 12: e1401777. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1401777
World Health Organisation (WHO). 2021. “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): How is it transmitted?” World Health Organisation. Dec 23, 2021. Accessed Jan 14, 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-how-is-it-transmitted
