Could be a signaling behavior to encourage spring births. Does UVB peak in the middle of the summer? 9 months later is probably the best time to birth a child for that child's success.
Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
21–30 of 164 posts
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not directly answering your question but related: "early sunscreen formulations were disastrous, shielding users from the UVB rays that cause sunburn but not the UVA rays that cause skin cancer. Even today, SPF ratings refer only to UVB rays, so many users may be absorbing far more UVA radiation than they realize." https://www.outsideonline.com/health/wellness/sunscreen-sun-...
How can you know if it does both? Look for UVA on the bottle?
Look for PA+++ ratings. You might have to buy sunscreen made outside the US, such as sunscreens made in Korea.
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#23No post body was provided.
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the countries that are most obsessed with keeping skin white — and so are likely the highest sunscreen users Isn't it rather more about avoiding skin cancer?
While American and European sunbathers tend to seek the perfect tan, many Indian and East Asian women avoid it at all costs, through sunscreen and a whole bevy of skin-lightening products: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18268914 https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005927/chinas-quest-for-fair... Such standards of beauty are quite old and largely predate Western colonialism. My impression is that they were often linked…
Yep,
In many caste-esque societies, having a darker tone is a sign of having to work outside, thus of lower class.
This happens a lot in the Philippines, for example. With a ton of skin lightening products.
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#25Implying that a primary causal factor for globally-declining birth rates could be... increased adoption of sunscreen, leading to decreases in libido? (I'm only half-joking; the countries that are most obsessed with keeping skin white — and so are likely the highest sunscreen users — are also the countries with the lowest birth rates.)
> (I'm only half-joking; the countries that are most obsessed with keeping skin white — and so are likely the highest sunscreen users — are also the countries with the lowest birth rates.) Obsession with keeping skin white is not something I normally see associated with South Korea, Singapore, or Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Obsession with keeping skin white has been a major trend in Korea for a long time, have you seen all the weird hats and face masks that ajummas wear in order to reduce sun exposure?
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#26"The questionnaire we used measured romantic passion, rather than physiological/sexual passion, due to institutional review board (IRB) ethical concerns regarding sensitive sexually oriented questions."
Curious about this. I understand ethical boards for psychological blind studies and such, but for questionaires?
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#27Implying that a primary causal factor for globally-declining birth rates could be... increased adoption of sunscreen, leading to decreases in libido? (I'm only half-joking; the countries that are most obsessed with keeping skin white — and so are likely the highest sunscreen users — are also the countries with the lowest birth rates.)
I don't get how reduced UV exposure is supposed to be more attributable to sunscreens than to office labors. Most industrial materials block roughly 100% of UV rays, except viewing windows which allows as much as 1%. Therefore, just staying in any modern building alone cuts down UV exposure by 99% at very least. There is absolutely no way some translucent face painting does that.
People have been working white-collar jobs indoors behind UV-reflective windows for 50+ years now. Birth-rate decline — especially to below-replacement levels — begins much more recently than that; and is only happening in certain countries.
The set of countries experiencing birth-rate decline is not 1:1 correlated with the set of countries with high/increasing white-collar employment; but, AFAICT, it is 1:1 correlated with the set of countries that have strong avoidance of tanning / strong interest in skin-whitening.
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#28Could be a signaling behavior to encourage spring births. Does UVB peak in the middle of the summer? 9 months later is probably the best time to birth a child for that child's success.
That seems possible but also more directly winter may be a bad time to start a pregnancy.
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't get how reduced UV exposure is supposed to be more attributable to sunscreens than to office labors. Most industrial materials block roughly 100% of UV rays, except viewing windows which allows as much as 1%. Therefore, just staying in any modern building alone cuts down UV exposure by 99% at very least. There is absolutely no way some translucent face painting does that.
> There is absolutely no way some translucent face painting does that. Wow what a dismissive comment to chemistry and cosmetics. Just for fun, try take a pic of yourself with a UV camera (or just UV light with some phones), and you'll see it's translucent only to the visible spectrum: https://petapixel.com/2016/05/26/tiny-uv-camera-shows-youve-...
One thing I've recently become curious about, is whether the "UV pigments" in sunscreens are color-fast or not; i.e. whether getting sunscreen on clothing gradually tints the clothing darker when seen in ultraviolet, in the same way that getting throwing a non-colorfast red shirt in with your whites will gradually tint them red.
Re: Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
While American and European sunbathers tend to seek the perfect tan, many Indian and East Asian women avoid it at all costs, through sunscreen and a whole bevy of skin-lightening products: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18268914 https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005927/chinas-quest-for-fair... Such standards of beauty are quite old and largely predate Western colonialism. My impression is that they were often linked…
Yep, In many caste-esque societies, having a darker tone is a sign of having to work outside, thus of lower class. This happens a lot in the Philippines, for example. With a ton of skin lightening products.
Being chubby and pale was desirable when the poor had to toil away outside and didn't have enough food to eat.
Being thin and tan is desirable today when the poor have to toil away in offices and don't have enough free time to go to the gym or take vacations in warm places.