Say it taint so.
A new round of TikTok videos has people sunning their perineum again.
The supposed wellness trend — which involves enthusiasts pointing their bare butts to the sky and getting exposure where the sun usually doesn’t shine — is sweeping across the video-sharing platform.
“It’s a feeling you can’t really describe unless you experience it,” TikTok user Abushady told Vice News. “It’s like the sunlight fills your being from the bottom up.”
Proponents of the pubic practice claim that sunlight on one’s nether regions provides a host of benefits.
“Better sleep, balanced hormones, more energy, higher libido, increased creativity, sweet freedom, [and] a nice tan [butt],” reads a post by TikTok user Sasha Piton.
Other influencers have likened the results to a cup of coffee, or to recharging their batteries.
Still more tout the wonders of supposedly increased Vitamin D levels.
“Thirty seconds is equivalent to walking around with your clothes on all day long,” one user claims.
Medical professionals have been warning against below-the-belt bronzing since the trend first surfaced in 2019, pointing out that the thin, sensitive layers of skin found in the genitals and anus are particularly sensitive to UV exposure.
Still, the “perineum sunning” hashtag currently has some 2.8 million views on TikTok — though it is unclear how many users are taking the videos as a how-to and how many are gawking.
A number of recent videos on the site are mocking the trend or warning against it.
“Do you really want me doing Mohs surgery on your genitals?” New Jersey dermatologist Zain Husain said in a TikTok post, referring to the process of removing cancerous layers of skin. “Think about it.”
