Jill McDevitt watched the conversation about face masks evolve over the last couple of months and realized it looked familiar.

This isnB次元官网网址檛 the first time public health officials have needed to convince people to wear something they didnB次元官网网址檛 want to wear in an effort to slow the spread of a serious virus, she says.

As a sexologist, McDevitt hopes the lessons from societyB次元官网网址檚 approach to condom usage since the 1980s can be applied to face masks today.

B次元官网网址淚 was hearing about people getting very angry at others not wearing masks and it reminded me a lot of the conversation with not wanting to wear condoms,B次元官网网址� said McDevitt, a San Diego-based sexuality educator, wellness coach and University of Waterloo graduate.

B次元官网网址淗ealth organizations years ago were getting very angry and shame-based with the way they tried to make people use condoms. But we have gotten better at delivering the message in an effective manner over the last 40 years.

B次元官网网址淪o weB次元官网网址檝e already done this work. WeB次元官网网址檝e already learned these lessons.B次元官网网址�

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McDevitt posted a widely shared list on her Facebook page last week highlighting ways to help convince people to wear face masks.

Among them was avoiding guilt-based methods, like shaming people online when they donB次元官网网址檛 wear masks in public; making sure face masks are accessible; and educating people on the risks of not wearing them.

But the biggest positive change, McDevitt says, needs to be making sure leaders and public health officials are on the same page with their messaging.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e all heard: wear the condom, wear the condom. But with masks, at first it was B次元官网网址榙onB次元官网网址檛 wear a mask,B次元官网网址� and now itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址榳ear a mask,B次元官网网址� and every place has different policies,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淏ut as far as what happens on an individual level, I think normalizing it, learning how to have the tough conversations with people in our lives who donB次元官网网址檛 want to wear masks B次元官网网址� not shaming people. I think those things are in our control.B次元官网网址�

Hilary Bergsieker, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo, agrees that messaging needs to be consistent in order to get people to comply. She said some non-mask wearers in Canada may be dealing with a lack of trust in public officials who stressed early in the pandemic that masks werenB次元官网网址檛 effective but have since changed their tune.

Some of those people wonB次元官网网址檛 have a choice anymore though. Cities like Toronto and Ottawa have bylaws taking effect Tuesday for face coverings in enclosed public spaces.

Other Canadian cities or provinces have also implemented face-covering rules in various settings. Quebec recently extended its face-mask rule province-wide on all public transit, coming into effect mid-July.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 public health officials say a non-medical mask or face covering can reduce the spread of a personB次元官网网址檚 own infectious respiratory droplets. This matches the advice of other health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, which say face coverings help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in public settings, especially when physical distancing is not possible to maintain.

Despite the medical advice, Bergsieker says there are numerous reasons why people take issue with mask-wearing mandates.

Social media has shown us plenty of examples, like a video shared on Twitter of a woman screaming at a 7-11 employee in Texas after being asked to wear a mask in the store. Last week a Toronto woman posted a video of herself refusing to wear a mask in a hospital.

B次元官网网址淪ome of it is ideological. Whenever you tell people to do something you can engender a psychological state called reactance, which is basically this resistance to having freedom curtailed,B次元官网网址� Bergsieker said. B次元官网网址淎s soon as somebody says B次元官网网址榙o thisB次元官网网址� that makes you automatically at some level not want to do this.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 particularly true if there are inconveniences and minor costs associated with the behaviour in question.B次元官网网址�

Bergsieker says mask-wearing mandates will be effective B次元官网网址� especially B次元官网网址渋f they have teethB次元官网网址� in the form of a fine or citation. People will comply with laws, she added, but that doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean theyB次元官网网址檒l be B次元官网网址減sychologically convincedB次元官网网址� the behaviour is necessary.

Harris Ali, a sociology professor at York University, says changing peoplesB次元官网网址� behaviour takes time. But it can be done.

He likened mask-wearing to seatbelts, pointing to initial skepticism from citizens when provinces began enacting those laws too.

B次元官网网址淎t first everyone was like, B次元官网网址極h, I donB次元官网网址檛 like this, this feels uncomfortable.B次元官网网址� And now weB次元官网网址檙e so used to it that we actually feel uncomfortable not wearing the seatbelt,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪o slowly, gradually, there was a transformation in our thoughts.

B次元官网网址淩ight now it could be that people are feeling uncomfortable wearing masks, but you become more comfortable as it becomes more prevalent and it loses its novelty, and therefore itB次元官网网址檚 stigma.B次元官网网址�

But how do we get to that point?

Ali says one way is in seeing the leaders, politicians and celebrities we respect and admire B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渨hoever the influential people in the society areB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� wearing masks.

Bergsieker agrees role models can be effective in changing peoplesB次元官网网址� attitudes. And like McDevitt, she doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe online shaming to be a strong influencer.

In fact, it can have the opposite effect.

B次元官网网址淥nline shaming can motivate people only if thereB次元官网网址檚 a sense that the people whose opinion you value are going to see what youB次元官网网址檝e done and disapprove,B次元官网网址� Bergsieker said. B次元官网网址淪o if people who are refusing to wear masks think that their peers, the audience they care about, will actually think theyB次元官网网址檙e being bold or brave or standing up for their principles, then public shaming like that will backfire.B次元官网网址�

McDevitt says people need to be honest about the realities of COVID-19 when trying to convince others to wear face masks, but not rely on a fear-based approach.

She recalled a video she was shown in the 1980s that insinuated anyone who had sex would die by contracting HIV.

B次元官网网址淲e can talk about (COVID) like, B次元官网网址榟ey, this is a deadly virus,B次元官网网址� but when weB次元官网网址檙e honest about the whole thing, people are more apt to listen,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址滱 whole generation of people in the B次元官网网址�80s were told B次元官网网址檡ouB次元官网网址檙e gonna get AIDS and die if you have sex,B次元官网网址� and when that didnB次元官网网址檛 happen they stopped believing anything sex educators said for a while.B次元官网网址�

McDevitt also says we need to allow for adaptations for those who canB次元官网网址檛 wear masks.

Things like face shields might be a suitable solution for an asthmatic, just as those with latex allergies have other options for condoms now.

B次元官网网址淲henever youB次元官网网址檙e just like: B次元官网网址榶ouB次元官网网址檙e a jerk, wear a mask,B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檙e missing opportunities to have conversations,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淏ut of course there is also a flagrant disregard for others that has been common (among) some people who donB次元官网网址檛 want to wear masks, and that comes from a lack of empathy in a lot of spaces. B次元官网网址� So I think the whole conversation is missing a lot of compassion.B次元官网网址�

Melissa Couto, The Canadian Press

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