While walking to her gym wearing a mask, Yuanyuan Zhu, a Chinese woman living inSan Francisco, notices a white man shouting expletives about China at her. When a bus passed moments later, he screamed after it, “Run them over”. While stuck waiting at the crosswalk with this man, Yuanyuan feels him staring, and soon after feels his saliva hitting her face. Without looking over, she hurries around the corner and cries quietly (Tavernise & Oppel, 2020). In Toronto, Jason Au doesn’t feel comfortable shopping at the grocery store he lives above after a white woman makes a loud spitting sound while standing next to him. He feels the gazes and hateful looks directed at him while walking down the street wearing a mask (Bowden, 2020).These are only two of the countless similar mask-wearing experiences of Chinese Canadians and Americans shaped by racist stigmatization and discrimination. To minimize these severe consequences, it is necessary to dismantle the xenophobic portrayals of mask-wearing.
Before masks were mandated, Chinese Canadians and Americans were afraid they would be stigmatized and discriminated against for wearing a mask (Ansari, 2020). In North America,mask-wearing was associated with sick people and disease, rather than prevention. However, in China, wearing a mask signifies solidarity and respect for others. So, when Chinese North Americans chose to wear a mask, they were viewed as reservoirs of sickness and infection,making them vulnerable to stigmatization and discrimination (Ma & Zhan, 2020).
During unprecedented times we often look to powerful authoritative figures for guidance.However, at the beginning of the pandemic, they have shown us what not to do. Take PresidentTrump for example, whose responses to the pandemic have been heavily influenced by white supremacy and racism. Trump has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus” and“Kung Flu” during his speeches (Ma & Zhan, 2020;Zhou, 2020). These racist remarks have encouraged his followers to do the same. Since the emergence of COVID-19, social media outlets have been a catalyst for the spread of anti-Asian ideas such as labeling COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus” (Ng, 2020). In addition to other comparable captions,there were approximately 72,000 social media posts with the hashtag #WuhanVirus by the beginning of April 2020 (Croucher et al., 2020).
Many social media posts and popular press articles have used images that frame the pandemic around individuals of Asian descent. The recurring image in social media posts and popular press articles seems to be individuals of Asian descent wearing medical face masks. One article on CNN reported that Texas was in a shortage of face masks due to a potential coronavirus case following an individual’s trip to Wuhan, China. Nonetheless, an image of three travelers of Asian descent wearing medical face masks preceded this article (Batova, 2020).
These responses demonstrate “othering”, where racial groups who hold the most power in North American societies (i.e., whites) blame and distance themselves from those who are racially different (i.e., Asian Americans) to cope with fear and anxiety (Gover et al., 2020). This “othering” leads to stigmatization and marking Chinese Canadians and Americans as deviant,which has destroyed their sense of belonging while maintaining comfort for whites (Ma & Zhan,2020). Stigmatization and actions of hate or exclusion have resulted in fear of going to the grocery store, using public transit, and even leaving the house while wearing a mask (Gao & Sai,2020).
As health professionals are respected and looked up to during times of health crisis, they must make clear the facts that the virus is not associated with travel to China and does not target a specific race or population. Additionally, healthcare providers need to make clear the difference between being cautious about viral transmission and acting in an exclusive and discriminatory manner. Exclusion and marginalization of racial groups will not, by any means,protect people against the virus, but instead fuel racism (Li & Galea, 2020).
As the government and media play a role in this tsunami of racist discrimination and hate crimes, they share the responsibility of addressing and destigmatizing mask-wearing for Chinese Canadians and Americans. The government must implement national action to enhance investigation and punishment against hate crimes and increase public messaging. There is a need for nationwide education programs promoting public awareness and empathy about the effects of racism to dismantle racist misconceptions and challenge underlying beliefs (Leung, 2008). Considering the profound influence of social media, platforms must have stronger monitoring of bias, racist comments, and more fact-checking to eliminate hate speech online (Awan, 2020).
Through these experiences, it has become clear that stigma towards Chinese Canadians and Americans is encouraged by the government and media. The policies mandated throughoutNorth America and the lessened use of racist remarks by public authorities have helped destigmatize mask-wearing for Chinese Canadians and Americans. However, national action is required to fight against this racism because the damaging actions of the government and media cannot be reversed.
References
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