In the beginning of modern man, community was emphasized because there were so few humans alive, perhaps no more than 10,000-15,000 worldwide. Either/or could not have existed because humans were so dependent upon each other for survival. The existing cultures today that harken back to ancient times reflect this notion because such systems started at the dawn of civilization, beginning with agriculture. When humans began to farm their food rather than hunt and gather it, either/or gained the foundation for its existence. This is the reason why early philosophers in the East such as Confucius emphasized group relationships within the community such as father-son, husband-wife, subject-emperor because of either/or temptations. Confucianism led to Taoism which was institutionalized as a cultural artifact for over 2,000 years, thus preserving the harmony of community represented by both/and. One possible explanation for the attitudes of community concerning the American Indians is because they preserved their cultures as roaming hunter/gatherers who crossed the landbridge connection Asia to the Americas. Either/or surfaces whenever there is a perceived scarcity of resources. Either/or developed as a full concept labelled individualism in Northern Europe after 1300 A.D. because Europe in the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire was divided into competing countries that essentially resembled city-states. Northern Europeans after the Fall of Constantinople were forced to find new trade routes to India and China because the Ottoman Turks and Arab Caliphates controlled the traditional land and sea routes(i.e. silk road by land, spice route by sea). Most of these states in Europe were poor, often being compelled to beg for assistance from the Papacy and rich city states in Italy for funds. The only way to create wealth for these European states was to apply technology invented elsewhere in order to find new trade routes and possibly control newly discovered lands.

Colonization had mixed results. Peoples such as the Aztecs in Central America and the Native Americans in the Americas were easily subjugated due to technology disparity and/or perceived lack of sophistication in terms of government. The Europeans were expelled by the Japanese Shogunate, not able to return until superior military firepower was in place in the 19th century. In China, different would be European colonizers were called barbarians and forced to pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor. This would all change during the Opium Wars in the 19th century, which was essentially the British illegally trading opium in China to compensate for a huge trade imbalance with China. Japan decided to upgrade itself during the Meiji Restoration while China granted concessions to the various European powers without giving anything to them permanently. In the long run, which is still ongoing, Either/or does not seem to work. Colonizers have had to surrender their possessions. The pacifist American Indians now own lucrative fishing and casino concessions. The EU is in turmoil economically. With the rise of China and India back onto the world stage in the next 50-100 years, Either/or will give way to the original community centered focus of both/And as East finally meets West at eye level. These two countries have had to deal with scarcity issues for thousands of years but with a both/And attitude. The greatest irony of all is that the Roman Empire itself was never about either/or since they allowed their imperial possessions the privilege of self-government. The Romans, up until the USA, were the most tolerant people in Europe that did not believe in a divide and conquer, either you do it our way or die mentality.

As for disguises, there are many disguises and masks that women must don. The problem that I have with this situation with women is that they must use more masks than men. Men are given more opportunities to be themselves without a mask, to literally LET IT ALL HANG OUT. Indeed, a woman's body is society's body. A man can scratch themselves in the crotch or reach over and touch their chests as a form of being pleased with a given situation. Women simply cannot touch themselves this way. Men can toggle their masks with ease, even showing a bare face in between the toggles. However, society expects women to toggle masks seamlessly, without any notice by others. Women are suffocated by these masks because these various identities tend to be subservient roles when compared to the masks of men. In the sex industry, a man can wear the mask of a pimp, customer or prostitute as a hustler. Women can only wear the mask of a prostitute, who is answerable to the customer and pimp. Although there are freelance female prostitutes, women can still be victimized by their customers. Women wear masks as mothers with the Second Shift as part of that mask while the male mask of father is less burdensome, less heavy on the face.

Can women stop wearing masks? No. Can men stop wearing masks? Yes, but only temporarily because society has a dress code for us all. Otherwise, we would all be running around naked in the streets.