In the 17th century, when the Great Plague was rampant, doctors wore plague masks. These masks, featuring characteristic long noses filled with fragrant herbs, were believed to protect the wearer from the 'miasma' thought to spread the plague. Accompanied by striking costumes, complete with a cloak and gloves, they provided a visually impressive illusion of safety against the bacterial disease. This terrifying image remains etched in our collective memory to this day.
In the context of melanie bonajo’s Economy of Love, these plague masks can be seen in a modern light as metaphors for the notion of protection and the illusion of safety within interpersonal contact and intimacy. In Economy of Love, bonajo examines how sex workers treat their profession as a form of emancipation and a reclamation of power in a male-dominated society. Just as the plague masks of the past served as both a physical barrier against disease and a symbolic shield against invisible threats, today’s masks can be interpreted as representations of the emotional and psychological boundaries established in personal relationships. They symbolize the façade or the external roles that individuals adopt for self-protection and to conform to social expectations.