Certain stereotypes about men and masculinity still exist in today’s world. There appears to be a never ending list on what men should or shouldn’t do to prove how ‘masculine’ they really are.
Although, we have gone leaps and bounds to get rid of certain stereotypes about masculinity, it seems there are still a couple that apply in the everyday lives of men.
A recent case in hand is when a netizen sparked debate on Twitter when he stated that men should not be wearing sunscreen.
In response to a male netizen’s Twitter post on the processes of putting on sunscreen, the netizen said, “Be a man. Stop wearing sunscreen.”
After his post gained quite its share of backlash, the netizen hit back by saying, “The amount of soyboy (feminine men) triggered by this tweet is too damn high.”
He then explained that in his experience of working in male dominated fields, no one even cares about sunscreen.
“Only soyboys working in offices are afraid of the sun, because they have been manipulated by the whisperings of the devil in the office.”
Malaysians call him out for promoting toxic masculinity
His tweet has garnered quite a bit of attention. Plenty of netizens took to the comments section to fire back at the netizen for saying that men who wear sunscreen are not masculine.
“Dear men, wearing sunscreen doesn’t make you less of who you are… you’re still a man even when you add basic skin/self care routine on a daily basis,” commented a user.
Meanwhile, some users pointed out that surely staying healthy and avoiding skin cancer is much more important than a man’s ‘masculinity’.
Some male netizens even took to the comments section to share how sunscreen has improved their skin and their health in general.
“Sunscreen plays a huge role in my acne journey, regaining my confidence and to do a little better in life.”
“It’s literally just a cream that blocks sun radiation, ain’t nothing to do with being a man,” added the user.
What does the science say?
There have been numerous scientific studies which have proven that sunscreen is essential mainly for skin as unprotected skin can result in skin cancer, wrinkles and other skin related issues.
However, some netizens who agreed with the netizen shared a study which allegedly claims that sunscreen decreases part of a man’s masculinity.
The study cited was a 2016 study done by researchers at University of Copenhagen who found that filters commonly used in sunscreens to absorb ultraviolet light could affect male fertility by stopping sperm from functioning properly.
According to CNN, Niels Skakkebaek, an endocrinologist at the university’s Rigshospitalet hospital unit who led the study said that the researchers tested 29 of the 31 UV filters approved for use in the United States and Europe by dissolving and applying them to sperm samples provided by healthy volunteers.
Almost half of the filters tested were found to stop sperm from functioning properly.
“These studies were done by incubating ejaculated sperm with these compounds in the laboratory. But this is a million miles from what might happen to sperm in a guy who puts on sunscreen,” said Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield.
More research is needed on the effects of sunscreen on sperm, other researchers said.
As there is currently no conclusive research behind the claim, we advise that men take care of their skin properly and use sunscreen to prevent skin cancer! To all men, what do you think of this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: “It’s better to never marry than have a dependent husband” – M’sian’s Advice Sparks Debate
