Source: The New York Times
BY: LEXI COYLE MCDONALD
LIFESTYLE HEAD
Masks have been and continue to be emblematic of various themes. For some, the usage of masks symbolizes community, a sense of togetherness and unity by caring for the people around you, while to others it means civic awareness and the advancement of medical modernity: masks can stop the spread of infectious diseases, while also bringing awareness to science and knowledge. The COVID-19 outbreak is not the first, nor will it probably be the
last, time our world sees a large percentage of citizens in many countries donning masks. An example of how masks have previously been embedded is in Asian culture. These countries have been embracing face masks in public for several years and accepting it as a cultural norm, for the rapid industrialization that occurred has led to very poor air quality and the presence of recent diseases like SARS.
A Cochrane Review, which is an analysis of published studies, found strong evidence during the 2003 SARS epidemic to support wearing masks. One study of community transmission in Beijing found that "consistently wearing a mask in public was associated with a 70% reduction in the risk of catching SARS." SARS, like COVID-19, is a respiratory illness caused by the same family of viruses called coronavirus. While SARS spread around the world, the worst of the epidemic was focused in Asia, particularly mainland China and Hong Kong. The legacy of this experience remains today, as since these countries were disproportionally affected, they hoped to prevent a similar thing from happening again.
The usage of masks has also evolved, with many celebrities, especially American influencers, joining the #MaskingForAFriend campaign to encourage wearing masks to protect others. Just like sunglasses and hats evolved from sun protection to fashion accessories, masks may do the same. The “CDC recommends that people wear a cloth face covering to cover their nose and mouth in the community setting,” said Dr. Mike Bell, the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. “This is to protect people around you if you are infected but do not have symptoms by blocking your respiratory droplets.” This is what is referred to as source control, which helps decrease the rate at which people are being infected. In addition, there is evidence to show masks help containing the spread of influenza. In future life beyond the stay-at-home orders, masks will most likely still be necessary for a while, but after that will America adopt an ongoing use of face masks like many Asian countries have?
There is reason to believe that this may happen. Now, with the popular demand for masks growing exponentially, it is not just the comfort aspect manufacturers are focusing on, but instead, designing masks that everyday people would like to wear with a multitude of different sizes, fits, clasps, clips, designs, materials, and many more elements that can be altered to the consumer’s demands.
Some different styles of masks include:
1. Gaiter masks
2. Festival-type masks
3. Fabric masks
4. Basic surgical masks
5. DIY bandana masks
6. Transparent masks
(for those with impaired hearing)
Fashionable usage of face masks has shown up in the media many times. Qiaodan Yin Peng Sportswear collection put face masks on the runway during China Fashion Week in 2014, while many rappers and musical artists have used masks or sold them at their shows.
This includes Ariana Grande and Ayo & Teo (Ayleo and Mateo Bowles). For the last few years, notable brands including Off-White, Palm Angels, Bathing Ape, and Fendi have all offered designer face masks. Gucci even made a special mask for Billie Eilish’s Grammy outfit, which helps her convey the message she promotes that her body is her own, for her eyes only. Other celebrity icons and models have also chosen to wear masks as a fashion statement. For the sake of others, I believe that it would be very beneficial and plausible for this fashion- forward, modern medicine-inspired look to catch on even more than it already has, becoming a cultural norm in public spaces globally.
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