UNMASKED MEANINGS

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Masks, which public health experts deem essential to stopping the transmission of Covid-19, have been deeply embedded in partisan politics, with Democratic governors mandating mask-wearing but most Republican governors declining to do this. Sociologists note a gender gap, with women more liable to wear masks and with some men perceiving the mask as unmanly or feminizing. The mask, like the T-shirt and baseball cap, also has become prime real estate for political messages.