Love them or hate them, facemasks have played an important role in the fight against Covid-19. Some have mockingly referred to masks as a face nappy, the British version of face diaper.
The Urban Dictionary entry for face nappy reads:
“A face mask. Nappy is uk word for diaper
Mick: hell yeah! What that on your face fam?
Wasteman: it’s a face nappy bud! I can’t use public transport without wearing one” (Doxan).
The entry for face diaper in the Urban Dictionary is defined as:
“A mocking term in reference to face masks.
I’m so sick of wearing these face diapers every time I walk into a store” (fencetape).
Not everyone agrees with the benefits of wearing a “face diaper.” The Montana Free Press reported on a protest event held on October 10, 2021 where people gathered to speak up for parental rights while opposing mask mandates. “During a rally on the steps of the Montana Capitol Friday, Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, said ‘Can there be anything more inalienable than the right to breathe freely?. When I have been forced to put on a mask, I immediately find that my respiration shortens, I become closed in…My whole psyche is demented by this mask, this face diaper. So we have to protect our children’s right to breathe freely’” (Sakariassen).
The term “face nappy” appeared in a fact checker article written for the Australian Associated Press website on January 10, 2022 which disputed the claims of Dr. Graham Lyon who said that “face nappy (mask) wearing…they’re making people unhealthy. They’re greatly increasing your risk of other, true respiratory diseases which do kill a lot of people per annum” (AAP Factcheck).
On February 20, 2021 the TODAY show twitter feed posted a news article that reported on a sign put up by Beckyjack’s Food Shack of Hernando County, Florida, that told customers “Face diapers are not required.” The photo quickly went viral.
On December 20, 2020 a modified version of Bobby McFerrin’s song Don’t Worry Be Happy was uploaded to YouTube with the song title Face Nappy.
Social Media Trends as of August 23, 2022
Facebook #facenappy: people are posting about this
Instagram #facenappy: 445 posts
TikTok #facenappy: 201,500 views
Google Trends: “face nappy” first appeared during the last week of January 5, 2020 as people started wearing masks in China where the pandemic started. The popularity of the term reached its peak during the week of May 30, 2021 just as the Delta variant was spreading like wildfire throughout the world.
Sources:
AAP Factcheck. “Video airs false claims about face masks and respiratory diseases.” AAP.com. January 10, 2022. URL: https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/claim-that-face-masks-increase-disease-risk-is-on-the-nose/.
Doxan. “Face nappy.” Urban Dictionary. July 15, 2020. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Face%20nappy.
fencetape. “Face diaper.” Urban Dictionary. August 5, 2021. URL: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Face%20nappy.
Khup Metalbullet channel. “Covid song || Face Nappy.” YouTube. December 20, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEI4aFfiBIc.
Sakariassen, Alex. “Dozens rally for parental rights, and against mask mandates.” Montana Free Press. October 1, 2021. URL: https://montanafreepress.org/2021/10/01/montana-parental-rights-masking-rally/.
TODAY show. “Florida restaurant goes viral for ‘face diapers not required’ sign.” Twitter. February 20, 2021. URL: https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1363253625791909890.