I'd be very interested to know what Japanese readers think of it.
'Masking' in the sense that Westerners seem to use it is always portrayed as something bad, but I have never quite understood how it is any different from the obligation that all of us have to make the effort to fit in with the basic local norms of behaviour (especially in a densely-populated city). Some societies have more flexible parameters for 'normal' than others, and I can see that it's harder for some people, but everyone has to do it. It's intrinsic to the interdependence of being part of a society. An identity is temporary and conditional, anyway.
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Date: 2025-03-01 06:59 am (UTC)'Masking' in the sense that Westerners seem to use it is always portrayed as something bad, but I have never quite understood how it is any different from the obligation that all of us have to make the effort to fit in with the basic local norms of behaviour (especially in a densely-populated city). Some societies have more flexible parameters for 'normal' than others, and I can see that it's harder for some people, but everyone has to do it. It's intrinsic to the interdependence of being part of a society. An identity is temporary and conditional, anyway.