A new sex trend means very dangerous things for Gen Z - who are bringing it back into fashion.
After a reality star revealed that there is a porn category that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, warnings have been raised about just how safe it is.
Now, before your mind starts to wander, it’s nothing that’s going to physically hurt you (objects, substances and anything like that), but it does increase your risk of developing a health condition that could kill you.
Carl Radke, who was on OG member of the Summer House gang shared that he prefers his porn pretty ‘niche’.
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He said that he likes tan lines, and apparently, it’s a whole thing online.
The category was exposed after West Wilson, one of Radke’s co-stars, asked him about what ‘weird’ content they like to watch to get off.
That’s when Radke said: “I had a thing where I just searched tan lines. I like tan line porn.”
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Now, you probably are a little confused right now about what this porn category is and why it’s dangerous, but it’s pretty self-explanatory.
Some people in porn are intentionally burning themselves using UV rays to get the desired look.
But also, Gen Z is also taking this sex trend to the real world, and now it’s known as the ‘tan lines trend’.
Young social media users are making a fashion statement that could cost them their lives.
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Remember how we used to go on holiday as teenagers and you’d end up with those bikini links with bright red shoulders?
That’s what they’re trying to emulate using high UV (ultraviolet) exposure to get the ‘burnt look’.
Everywhere on social media, you’ll see users claiming that using a low SPF product and tanning oils whilst tanning in high UV conditions to get the desired look.
This allows them to become burnt, and then in a few days the tan will appear.
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However, experts warn that even mild sunburn can cause permanent skin damage, and it can even lead to skin cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, there are around ‘17,500 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 48 every day’.
Symptoms of skin cancer includes a patch that doesn’t disappear, a mole that grows, changes shape or colour and peeling skin that doesn’t heal.
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Australia’s Cancer Council recommends sun protection when UV levels reach 3 or higher, as levels between 6 and 7 are classified as high and 11 plus is extreme.
But even though this ‘tan lines trend’ can be dangerous, a report by Vice showed that it’s getting more and more popular.
“The tan line is imbued with meaning: a mark of leisure, a memory of a bikini, and a suggestion of the things that remain hidden,” its author wrote.
“But despite waning in popularity since peaking in the ’80s and ’90s, tan lines remain an iconic, erotic symbol — and according to new data, tan lines’ sexual power is undergoing a revival.”
There’s even a Reddit group dedicated to the porn genre and according to Vice, its members have almost quadrupled in the last four years.
TikToker and ‘SPF lover’ Belle Bower, who lost her dad to melanoma, told the Guardian the younger generations lack awareness.
“There are gaps in knowledge,” she said.
“We’ve got millennials, who grew up with campaigns from their parents, like Slip, Slop Slap, and then there’s my generation, Gen Z, who’ve grown up with a lot of social media, who don’t have access to these campaigns as readily.”
The Slip, Slap, Slop she is referring to is a sun safe campaign in Australia.
According to the Aussie Qurensland Government, the five sun safe behaviours to practice are:
- Slip on a shirt
- Slop on sunscreen
- Slap on a hat
- Seek shade
- Slide on sunglasses
She added: “They’re obsessed with looking great, they are doing this trend because they think it’s aesthetic, and they don’t realise the damage that actually does.”
The tan lines just don’t seem to be worth the risk.
Britt Jones