Does Karen wear a mask? The gendering of COVID-19 masking rhetoric

Bhasin, Tavishi; Butcher, Charity; Gordon, Elizabeth Ellen; Hallward, Maia Carter; LeFebvre, Rebecca

doi:10.1108/ijssp-07-2020-0293

Cited by 35 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…While providing a window on the relative interaction frequencies of pro- and anti-mask tweeters with robust data, this narrow focus certainly could not capture all interactions or lack of interactions between the tweeters, and may have limited the informativeness of our results, especially in the analysis of the echo chamber effect. Lastly, previous studies found that COVID-19 mask rhetoric in social media is gendered [ 86 ], that there is a gender difference in the likelihood of mask-wearing in public [ 69 , 76 ], and that male leaders who value a macho image tend to eschew masks because they perceive mask wearing as emasculating [ 87 ]. One of the pro-mask hashtags in our data, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

#MaskOn! #MaskOff! Digital polarization of mask-wearing in the United States during COVID-19

2021

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused an unprecedented public health crisis worldwide. Its intense politicization constantly made headlines, especially regarding the use of face masks as a safety precaution. However, the extent to which public opinion is polarized on wearing masks has remained anecdotal and the verbal representation of this polarization has not been explored. This study examined the types, themes, temporal trends, and exchange patterns of hashtags about mask wearing posted from March 1 to August 1, 2020 by Twitter users based in the United States. On the one hand, we found a stark rhetorical polarization in terms of semantic antagonism between pro- and anti-mask hashtags, exponential frequency increases of both types of hashtags during the period under study, in parallel to growing COVID-19 case counts, state mask mandates, and media coverage. On the other hand, the results showed an asymmetric participatory polarization in terms of a predominance of pro-mask hashtags along with an “echo chamber” effect in the dominant pro-mask group, which ignored the subversive rhetoric of the anti-mask minority. Notwithstanding the limitations of the research, this study provides a nuanced account of the digital polarization of public opinion on mask wearing. It draws attention to political polarization both as a rhetorical phenomenon and as a participatory process.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

#MaskOn! #MaskOff! Digital polarization of mask-wearing in the United States during COVID-19

2021

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“…Qualitative research with college students and their families has shown that women and mothers played a key role in managing the risks of COVID-19, and that those roles led women and mothers to take more steps to manage risks (Umamaheswar and Janani 2020). Women, for example, were more likely than men to report wearing masks and taking other steps to keep their families' safe (Bhasin et al 2020;Cassino and Besen-Cassino 2020;Haischer et al 2020;Kramer 2020;Palmer and Peterson 2020). At the same time, research has also shown that women were less likely than men to report intentions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (Callaghan et al 2021;Funk and Tyson 2020).…”

Section: Anticipating Oppositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I’m Not Gonna Put That On My Kids”: Gendered Opposition to New Public Health Initiatives

Calarco¹,

Anderson²

2021

Preprint

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Our individualistic, consumeristic medical system pushes women to act as family health managers. As a result, women are generally more likely than men to follow expert medical recommendations for avoiding health risks. In the context of rampant misinformation, however, the pressure women face to control risks may lead them to disproportionately oppose some new efforts to promote public health. We investigate this possibility using a novel mixed-methods study examining gendered opposition to two school-based public health initiatives related to COVID-19. Nationally representative surveys of 1,946 parents reveal that mothers are significantly more likely than other parents to oppose school-required immunizations against COVID-19 and significantly more likely to report planning not to vaccinate their children. This opposition is particularly pronounced among white Republican/Republican-leaning mothers (54% opposed). Simultaneously, however, mothers are significantly less likely than other parents to oppose school mask mandates, with white Democrat/Democrat-leaning fathers being most opposed (45%). In-depth interviews with a socioeconomically, politically, and racially/ethnically diverse group of mothers (N=64) link these patterns to mothers’ beliefs that they can control the risks of COVID-19 (including through use of masks) but not the risks of COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, we conclude that, in the context of rampant misinformation, gendered pressures lead mothers to disproportionately support initiatives they perceive as useful for controlling health risks and disproportionately oppose initiatives they perceive as introducing uncontrollable risks. Given high rates of parental opposition to COVID-related public health initiatives, we suggest that a consumeristic model of medicine, coupled with widespread misinformation, may lead to a crisis of confidence that undermines public health.

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“…Numerous studies have analyzed the role played by masks during the COVID-19 pandemic [2–6]: masks have been associated with a reduction in the infection rate among health care workers in a large hospital network [7], mask mandates have helped reduce the number of cases in the United States and in Germany [8–10], and simulations have shown that wearing a mask can protect against droplet infection by preventing the spread of viral particles [11–16]. Despite this evidence, there has been strong resistance against mask-wearing [17–20], and the states of Texas and Mississippi recently lifted their mask mandates even though they have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies have analyzed the role played by masks during the COVID-19 pandemic [2][3][4][5][6]: masks have been associated with a reduction in the infection rate among health care workers in a large hospital network [7], mask mandates have helped reduce the number of cases in the United States and in Germany [8][9][10], and simulations have shown that wearing a mask can protect against droplet infection by preventing the spread of viral particles [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Despite this evidence, there has been strong resistance against mask-wearing, begging the question of the role played by attitudes towards masks in determining COVID-19 outcomes, and whether mask mandates could lead to an increase in adherence [17][18][19]. Investigating these questions is a key component of an ongoing effort to determine how to design, implement and sustain the adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic [20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, lockdowns and business closures have not significantly decreased the infection rates of people from poorer communities as they cannot stop going to work [65] while unfortunately having a disproportionate impact on their financial health [73]. This is especially important as similar demographic drivers behind mask avoidance[17][18][19] 82] might impact successful deployment of vaccines.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Association between COVID-19 Outcomes and Mask Mandates, Adherence, and Attitudes

Adjodah¹,

Dinakar

Chinazzi

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Using publicly available data, we quantify the impact of mask adherence and mask mandates on COVID-19 outcomes. We show that mask mandates are associated with a statistically significant decrease in daily new cases (−3.24 per 100K), deaths (−0.19 per 100K), and the proportion of hospital admissions (−2.47%) due to COVID-19 between February 1 and September 27, 2020. These effects are large, corresponding to 13% of the highest recorded number of cases, 20% of deaths, and 7% of admission proportion. We also find that mask mandates are linked to a 23.4 percentage point increase in mask adherence in four diverse states, and that mask adherence is associated with improved COVID-19 outcomes. Lastly, using a large novel survey in 68 countries, we find that community mask adherence and attitudes towards masks are associated with a reduction in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our results have relevant policy implications, indicating the need to maintain and encourage mask-wearing.

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Does Karen wear a mask? The gendering of COVID-19 masking rhetoric

Cited by 35 publications

References 8 publications

#MaskOn! #MaskOff! Digital polarization of mask-wearing in the United States during COVID-19

#MaskOn! #MaskOff! Digital polarization of mask-wearing in the United States during COVID-19

“I’m Not Gonna Put That On My Kids”: Gendered Opposition to New Public Health Initiatives

Association between COVID-19 Outcomes and Mask Mandates, Adherence, and Attitudes

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