What has struck me the most with the COVID19 mandatory face mask order? The shift of my own gaze from looking at individuals face-to-face as a whole, to focusing on their eyes/eyebrows.  As I work in a supermarket, I am approached (within six feet (often less, due to carelessness from shoppers)) by many shoppers throughout the day. I personally feel frustrated by the lack of freedom of choice and the lack of comfort from wearing a facemask. I sense the frustration from shoppers too. I do, however, find it interesting to see individualsâ choice of mask style and learning how to make your own.
   Simply by covering the lower half of the face, individuals momentarily become less recognizable. Fortunately, even an individualâs eyes and eyebrows share a lot of emotion. We sometimes hear of the phrase âsmile with their eyesâ or âthe window into your soulâ. Animators often describe how they use various features to make their characters more expressive. They usually need to cheat, in order to make animals more expressive. This is something that different cultures around the world such as those who wear niqabs and burkas already experience every day. I sometimes wonder how they must feel about it personally, especially while wearing these coverings in western cultures. We also try to empathize with individuals who have lost control of their facial muscles. Fortunately, we can still express our emotions through our eyes alone. In fact, researchers have performed many studies proving that we express many emotions through our eyes. From as little as 6 to thousands of emotions can be identified through our eye expressions. These emotions are very much unique to human beings and are one of the many ways that we can read each otherâs moods and intents. This allows us to communicate and exchange empathy with others.Â
           This fascination with the eyes is well documented through both ancient history and pop culture today. After all, what is the first thing that you try to draw after stick figures? Probably an eye. The sometimes-intense coloration and detail of the eye is incredibly unique to each individual; just as fingerprints and snowflakes are. We also accessorize our eyes and faces. Even everyoneâs mask is different. Iâve seen everything from standard disposable PPE to wearing a whole welderâs mask. This uniqueness and interest donât stop there. One can even read an individual's health conditions just by examining the eye. That's the other thing I noticed from one person to the next. Some eyes appear healthier than others. Through ophthalmology and iridology, medical professionals can interpret signs of various health conditions. There is still a lot to discover behind our emotional expressions and the eyes themselves.
Is there anything youâd like to share related to emotions, culture, or health conditions based on our eyes?
Are there any animals that you can think of that communicate with their eyes?
Is anyone designing their own face masks?
Comment below!
References and Additional Reading
Thomas, B. (2017, May 11). Why Eyes Express Emotion. Retrieved from https://www.icr.org/article/why-eyes-express-emotion
We Read Emotions Based on How the Eye Sees. (2017, February 22). Retrieved from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/we-read-emotions-based-on-how-the-eye-sees.html