Why do we wear masks?

Actors get paid to pretend they are people they are not, actually, anybody performing on any kind of stage, probably wear some kind of mask. One could even speculate that the spectator prefers it so....

Those people on stages get to be, do, all the things us partaking in "real" life, don't....well, many of us assume so I think. But, maybe we are all on stage all the time and we all wear a mask of some sort?

Somebody once said: "Life is not a dress rehearsal" and maybe LIFE is "the show" we all are actors in, we just don't perceive it as such.

Maybe it's not so much a mask more like a camoflague, a veil, one may say, perhaps we keep our "real faces" very private. I read somewhere that noone ever sees their own face with their own eyes because we only see a reflection, and reflections are filtered through our perceptions.

So, who gets to see the real you, if not even you can do so?

Let's look closer at the "real" us because I have the suspicion that its no so much a singular but a plural concept that just happens to be wrapped up in a homogenous singular entity called the "body".

As humans we can be many things, play many roles, and switch between them seamlessly many times within the space of a few minutes.

One mask/role of the other for example: The role of a working mother; she can wake up in the morning as "the self", wake her husband as a wife, get her children ready for school as a mother, call her mother to arrange lunch as a daughter, give her sister a lift to work as a sibling, arrive at work as a professional woman, make decisions as a boss. Now these are just the outward roles, she is also a woman, a lover, a confidant, a mentor, a friend, a human being with all experiences and conditions that entails.

Ofcourse, the example could also have been a working father, but I will leave that for now.

I believe we start wearing masks the first time we are scolded for showing emotions deemed unsuitable for public display.

And one by one we add the masks until we hardly notice wearing them at all until some experience come our way that is so profound we toss caution to the wind and let our "real" face show.

One trait in Aspbergers Syndrome is a difficulty in reading peoples facial expressions and recognising the other persons responses and feelings, which can cause complication in regards to social interactions, now, if on top of this most of us seem to be wearing masks, how do we communicate at all one wonders.

Even without Aspbergers syndrome, it can be difficult to read people, because we are only ever allowed to see the face(mask)the other person allows for us to see.

Maybe its not so much about why we wear masks as much as how to wear the right ones at the right time?

Is it even possible or desirable to not wear them since we live in a very demanding society with many customs, expectations, considerations, cultural expectations, etc.etc.

 When putting on make-up(men and women nowadays both use it :), are we not "putting on" a mask of sorts? We use terms like: "let me put my face on, he lost his face, let's face it, face the music, falling flat on one's face" etc.etc. Facial expression is part of our communication with each other.

 Wearing a mask for the purpose of deception of a manipulative kind, to mislead and secure an outcome contrary to our real intentions could possibly be conceived as acting and maybe fits the stage more so than everyday living.

However, keeping our private, "real" face private and visible for only a select few may be

very necessary for us to retain our core selves so when we see our reflection in a mirror, it is cohesive with our perception of ourselves.