Disneyland is still closed and its reopen date remains unclear. But Disney CEO Bob Chapek has already suggested the park may suffer a massive issue — getting people to wear masks.
On May 11, Disney reopened its Shanghai Disneyland park — the first of its parks to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. But the park came with some changes. Face masks and coverings are required for guests. Social distancing must be practiced between rides, too.
Shanghai’s reopening has been seen as a test case to see how other Disney parks would reopen, according to reports.
But an interview with CNBC this week, Chapek said Disney parks in the U.S. — like Walt Disney World and Disneyland — may struggle to encourage guests to wear masks.
He said, “I think that the masks for the guests will be something that culturally is, is different. In Asia, as you know, it’s fairly commonplace, even before COVID for folks to walk around in public with masks on. That is not the case in the U.S.”
Encouraging people to wear masks might be harder than it sounds. Right now, there has been something of a culture war surrounding whether people should be required to wear masks.
On top of that, not everyone enjoys wearing masks. As I reported for the Deseret News, a new study suggested that men are more likely to avoid face masks and coverings because of how they’ll be seen and perceived by wearing them.
The study found men are less likely than women to wear masks and coverings, especially in places where those masks are required.
“Men more than women agree that wearing a face covering is shameful, not cool, a sign of weakness and a stigma,” the study authors wrote.