“I agree that vulnerable people want to wear masks as a precaution, but that’s their own choice,” Andrew said. When someone asked why he didn’t wear them when he went to public places such as supermarkets, subways, he lied, “I am exempt from wearing masks”. Many men refuse to wear masks because they consider it a sign of lack of masculinity and weakness. Photo: Cottonbro / Pexels. According to the The Independent Wearing a mask is the most important method to prevent the virus from spreading. The World Health Organization has been urging people to wear masks since June 2020, a scientific review published in July of the same year in the Journal of the American Medical Association described it as “an important important” in the fight against Covid-19. However, the disturbing fact is that there is a large number of people who refuse to wear masks like Andrew, the majority of which are men. A survey of 2,459 people in the US conducted by two academics at Middlesex University (London) and the University of Berkeley (California, USA) in May 2020 found that men are not only less likely to wear masks in public places. women, many of whom even consider wearing them “embarrassing, uncomfortable and a sign of weakness”. “Wearing a mask is a sign of weakness” Even when he tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized, former US President Donald Trump still wanted to show that he did not need a mask, he took it off while standing on the steps of the White House after returning from the hospital. institute. “I don’t wear a mask like him. Standing a few dozen meters away, he was still wearing the biggest mask I’ve ever seen,” Trump said of President Joe Biden during the September 2020 debate. Trump seems to be implying that not wearing a mask means he is showing overwhelming strength against his opponent. Many men believe that only vulnerable people need to wear masks. Photo: Rex Features. A study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an American NGO that focuses on public health issues, found that 68% of women regularly wear masks when leaving the house, this number in men is 49%. Emma Lygnerud Boberg, gender and program development consultant at International Media Support (Denmark), said: “This is a trend that we have seen before, where men appear to be reluctant to adopt measures. preventive measures than women”. She further notes that this is also consistent with other data, like men wearing seat belts less often than women. Peter Glick, an expert at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, says that men seem willing to take greater risks in everyday life, and that there are toxic gender stereotypes that force men to flex their muscles and fear. hurt. “Men are socialized to be dominant and independent. All these characteristics are intended to reinforce patriarchal norms that present masculinity as a performance. Wearing a mask can be interpreted as It shows weakness in some men. It shows that they are openly afraid of this virus, which means breaking courage,” he told The Independent. Toxic gender stereotypes Preliminary research by James Mahalik, Boston College professor of Developmental Educational Psychology, and doctoral fellows Michael Di Bianca and Michael Harris suggests that individualist tendencies and skepticism toward science Education can be directly related to whether or not a person will accept wearing a mask. To find out why some men refused to wear masks, Mahalik surveyed 596 men across 49 states, of various ages, with incomes ranging from less than $10,000 a year to more than $200,000 a year. The survey asked each person to rate whether they identified certain masculinity standards and to express their thoughts on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to minimize sexual harassment. spread of Covid-19. Toxic gender stereotypes are part of the reason some men don’t want to wear masks. In general, respondents felt positive about the Covid-19 prevention guidelines and said they adhered to them (since this was self-provided data, the researchers could not confirm that they actually wear masks all the time). Men who hold negative views on public health recommendations, such as social distancing and wearing face masks, also have traditional masculinity ideals revolving around emotional control, self-reliance, unity, and self-reliance. dominance, victory, power over women, and heterosexual self-expression. “We found that media masculinity saw less benefit from following CDC guidelines. They see more barriers, less trust in science, and they have less empathy for vulnerable or high-risk people,” Mahalik told Fast Company. Instead of trying to convince masculine men to change core elements of their identities, public health officials might consider reducing individualism in men by focusing on more socially friendly aspects of traditional masculinity.

In the program Weekend story On VTV this week, there was the appearance of a female artist loved by many audiences – People’s Artist Kim Xuan. Here, People’s Artist Kim Xuan had a conversation with MC Ngo Nhu Quynh and Psychological Doctor To Nhi A about a topic that is considered eternal in family life, which is the relationship between mother-in-law and the bride.

The relationship between mother-in-law – bride-in-law is a long and controversial topic not only in Vietnam but also in the world. Usually, people think that daughter-in-law is always at a disadvantage in this story. But perhaps times have changed when so many mothers now have to come together to share and learn how to be a mother-in-law. And from the perspective of People’s Artist Kim Xuan, many people have to be confused.

People’s Artist Kim Xuan: “I learned how to be a mother-in-law unconsciously”

People’s Artist Kim Xuan said that the common mentality of mothers, including mothers-in-law who have a daughter to marry, is mostly prejudiced about this relationship. The female artist pointed out that the individualism was too great to make the problem between the mother-in-law – the bride-in-law difficult to solve.

As a woman herself, when thinking about her days as a bride in the past, having a strict but loving mother-in-law has helped her to perfect herself today. Since then, People’s Artist Kim Xuan knows how to properly treat her daughter-in-law. Besides, she proved confusing when some mothers-in-law had thoughts “In the past, it was too hard, so now I want to exile my daughter-in-law as much as I do”.

The female artist was also very surprised when Dr. To Nhi A shared: “Because of the stereotypes of the Eastern culture that ‘overlap with class’ and do not exist alone, that has created the current situation that … young girls hate their mother-in-law even when they do not know they have one. husband or not ”.

This is invisible, making the image of the mother-in-law distorted in the eyes of the bridesmaids, creating a certain precaution even before meeting the other party. On the contrary, on the side of the mother-in-law, they also have certain prejudices created from their own experience of “being a bride” and the fear of losing a son also complicates the relationship with her daughter-in-law.

MC Ngo Nhu Quynh said, being a good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is not only natural, but it takes effort. The female MC said that when it comes to the mother-in-law relationship – the bride-in-law, usually everyone will pay attention to “learning to be a bride” but forget the aspect of “learning to be a mother-in-law”.

People’s Artist Kim Xuan immediately expressed: “First of all, it must be confirmed that this is a very good phrase. Maybe a lot of people my age, who are older than me or who are preparing to have a daughter-in-law … will say: Why learn to be a mother-in-law? Learning for what? Because they think they are parents, their thinking is that their children must follow.

I feel lucky because being an actress gives me a lot of experience and experience when transforming into many different mothers-in-law. Since then, I know what is right and what is wrong to have a moderation in the way of treating her daughter-in-law, so learning to be a mother-in-law is essential ”.

She continued to confess: “I don’t know if I learned from the films I learned from acting or learned unconsciously, but now I learn this: Even in my family, each member is not sure about the same opinion, sometimes they are It took a long time for a young girl to come to her family, through a time of inquiry, to live with a son. me, give me a lovely, smart grandchild and work like a hard bee even my youth only know for my family.

And what is her joy in return? Is a holiday with the family on vacation. That joy is too lovely, reasonable. There may be very small mistakes but it is a daily life, should I force them to make it bigger to immobilize between the two women in the house, and the most guilty person is my son, should there be that? I feel absolutely no “.

The advice that People’s Artist Kim Xuan gives to mothers-in-law today is to get rid of deep thoughts, just live and think simple. All the things that make you feel light, make the whole family happy and happy should be done, do not let the situation of “daughter-in-law in case of mother-in-law, mother-in-law looking at daughter-in-law” accidentally makes the atmosphere family becomes stressed.

“In my opinion, just live comfortably and especially think about what kind of family we are, the new member to my family must also give people time to integrate. Not 1 minute and 1 second. ‘ You have to be like this, your house is like that, you mustn’t be wrong … ‘God, that pressure is terrible “, People’s Artist Kim Xuan said.

“When Thanh Phuong’s son and daughter-in-law asked for them separately, I was shocked”

Talking about the relationship within her own family, People’s Artist Kim Xuan said she was shocked for half a year when her son left: “Everyone thinks I am living with my son and daughter-in-law Thanh Phuong, but now I live separately. My wife and I only gave birth to Huy Luan. I don’t pamper my child, but whatever I say he is still my only son, so for me, his son is number 1.

I love them, I love them and there are some things that I don’t say, but I always look forward to them. I always listen to her opening the door when she is singing in the tea room every night. Everywhere I go, I will pass by my floor and say: ‘Mom, I’m going home’. Therefore, when Huy Luan, his son and his daughter-in-law Thanh Phuong proposed to live separately, I was shocked, really shocked.

I think, I built a house only for the purpose of the whole family to live together, yet they demanded a separate residence. For about 6 months, my husband and I felt like being stressed, but my family did not say it. I am proud that I am a mother with no deterrence. “

She thought, if I say those words without thinking, it will make me burn forever and misunderstand me. Over the past 6 months, both People’s Artist Kim Xuan and her husband, apart from sad times, thought that their son did it once, but that was true.

“Firstly, Huy Luan and Thanh Phuong’s work hours are erratic, if they keep going home like this will affect their parents’ sleep, so they don’t want to disturb their parents. Fortunately, my son and daughter-in-law’s house is located in District 1, very convenient for their work.

Secondly, I remember myself from a few years ago and see, I myself also dreamed of having a private space so that my husband and I could freely joke around, speak loudly, and argue all opinions without. afraid of being known by parents. So it is true that I am sentimental about boys asking to live separately, but up to now, after 6 years have passed, I feel that their decisions are correct and I respect their decisions “, the female artist confided.