A report comprised of three studies showed that people who thought they were less attractive were more likely to wear masks.

The report was derived from three studies conducted by the Department of Psychology and Center for Happiness Studies at Seoul National University in South Korea. The first two studies found that people who thought they were good-looking were less willing to wear a mask; they were less likely to believe that mask-wearing made them look better. The third study found that their belief was stronger in situations where they needed to deliver a favorable impression.

“Research shows that individuals who perceive themselves as more (vs. less) attractive possess more socially desirable attributes … have higher self-esteem … and enjoy better mental and physical health,” the study stated.

The study claims that “as essential cues that signal (un) attractiveness (e.g., facial symmetry) … can be censored with a mask, mask-wearing might critically influence how one’s attractiveness is perceived. … relatively unattractive individuals are deemed more attractive with masks … previous findings suggest that mask-wearing enhances perceived attractiveness among unattractive individuals, while the opposite is true for attractive individuals.”

The study points out that in South Korea, the term “ma-gi-kkun,” was coined to refer to people who intentionally wore a mask to give a more favorable impression; the study cites the American term “mask-fisher” to mean the same thing.

“We expect that individuals who perceive themselves as attractive (unattractive) will be less (more) likely to endorse the belief that wearing a mask enhances their perceived attractiveness,” the study states, concluding, “Our results consistently demonstrated that self-perceived unattractive individuals were more willing to wear a mask, as they believed it would benefit their attractiveness.”

The Daily Mail reported that the people examined in the study were Americans recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and the average age of those in the study was 33 years old.

According to an Ipsos report from early December, roughly half of the Americans they surveyed reported wearing masks “at all times or sometimes when on an airplane.” 39% of respondents said they wore masks at all times or sometimes when on public transportation or in a rideshare; 33% said they wore masks at all times or sometimes in grocery stores. 85% of respondents said that the COVID-19 virus would not go away during their lifetimes.

Question of the Day: Why do women wear yoga pants everywhere?

This question was actually partially inspired by my colleague Ben Shapiro — but I have a different opinion than he does, for slightly different reasons. 

Here’s what he had to say about yoga pants on The Ben Shapiro Show today:

Listen, I made this case to my friend Ali Beth Stuckey, who’s like, ‘yeah, yoga pants are fine. Women can wear yoga pants.’ But don’t be surprised when men stare at you because it hugs your ass. That’s just the reality. And when I say stare, it doesn’t mean to gawk at you. But if a man takes an occasional glance at the fact that you have a spray-painted ass, that is not a shock. That is not sexism. That is basic human biology.

Ben made a very fair point — absolutely. Yoga pants are sexier and men will look at you if you are wearing them. But, that’s not the only reason I wanted to cover this topic today. That’s not the issue I am most concerned with.

A few weeks ago I was at a dinner and looking up I saw an old photo of a very well-dressed gentleman working in a field taken decades ago.

The photo made me yearn for the olden days, when people dressed respectfully. That nostalgia was made even stronger when my husband and I recently went to the park, without kids, after eating out.

I looked around and I realized every single woman was wearing yoga pants. There were many variations, but they all were wearing yoga pants.

And I wondered, “Why is everyone wearing yoga pants?” These weren’t women who just left a workout — these were women who chose to wear yoga pants to the park. They grabbed yoga pants and put them on as if they were an appropriate outfit to wear outdoors.

Now, I need to be very careful here and tell you guys I’m a hypocrite, okay? I was that woman for a very long time — probably up until two weeks ago.

So, there isn’t any “gotcha here!” if somebody digs up a photo of me in yoga pants. I admit it.

Yet something in my mind has transformed and I’ve realized how ridiculous it is to wear yoga pants.

Why are we wearing these yoga pants? When did this trend start? Did it start when it became trendy to wear spandex? Was it with Victoria’s secret with the folded own spandex pants?

For me — and a lot of ladies my age — wearing yoga pants became fashionable in college and we never let go of the trend. So, I asked women I know — at work, in my family, my friend groups: “Why do you wear yoga pants everyday as if they are a pair of jeans?

And the number one response I got was, “Well, it’s comfortable.” The second best response was that it’s “quick and easy.”

Well, that doesn’t entirely make sense when you think about it. You can wear comfortable jeans. It takes just as long to put on pants or wear a dress. Just because it’s effortless — doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

Which is why I have a different opinion than Ben Shapiro on yoga pants. Yoga pants to me are part of the decline of our culture.

Everywhere I look, our culture has become relaxed, so careless, and intent on putting in as little effort as possible.

This occurs with our manners, our work ethic, and our grammar — as I have discussed in many of my shows — such as where I broke down the sin of slothfulness. 

That is not progress. It’s regression. And now, we’re passing it on to our children. Everyone’s toddler looks like they’re going to the gym. They are all in sweatpants.

I do believe that how you dress children early on teaches them life lessons. They either learn to be presentable or that it’s okay to dress like a slob. That impacts their mindset.

The way we as adults dress influences our mindset and therefore our thoughts and actions. In turn, those actions shape our society.

As I’ve discussed, society is becoming less beautiful. When you see overseas culture — people in London or elsewhere in Europe — and you see how they make a little bit more of an effort, you quickly realize we’ve lost something here in America.

If we want to change that, then we need to start doing little things that will transform our mindset. And if we practice beauty on an individual level, we will begin to see beauty on an outward external level — and that can shape our nation for the better.

It has to start somewhere.  It starts with you, it starts with you at home. So, I will be the first one to bite the bullet. I think that we should stop wearing yoga pants everywhere.

I have added this to my list of things I’m going to do this year — not be that weekend mom who throws on a pair of yoga pants. Small things can make a huge difference.

Humor me: This weekend, I challenge you to not wear yoga pants.