wellness

Please Don’t Expose Your Nether Regions to Sustained, Direct Sunlight

Josh Brolin, butthole burn survivor. Photo: Getty Images

Sad anal news today: Josh Brolin, star of Avengers and No Country for Old Men, says he suffered a “severe” burn to over the Thanksgiving holiday after taking part in the recent Instagram trend of “perineum sunning,” which involves exposing your bare sphincter to direct sunlight.

In a moving Instagram post he shared on Saturday, Brolin’s emotions were as raw as his burnt flesh. “Tried this perineum sunning that I’ve been hearing about and my suggestion is DO NOT do it as long as I did,” he said. “My pucker hole is crazy burned and I was going to spend the day shopping with my family and instead I’m icing and using aloe and burn creams because of the severity of the pain.”

To call perineum sunning a “trend” might be a bit of a stretch. Outlets like the New York Post started reporting on the phenomenon after a wellness blogger known as Metaphysical Meagan posted a picture of herself back in mid-November, in which she is nude, on her back, with her legs up in the air, baring her inner workings to the sun. In a lengthy caption accompanying the post, Meghan wrote that perineum sunning was an “ancient Taoist practice that originated in the Far East,” and that it helped strengthen one’s organs, promote health and longevity, and regulate one’s circadian rhythm.

Although the Post called the practice “the latest insanity wellness influencers swear by,” it is unclear how many people besides Metaphysical Meagan — and now Brolin — have actually exposed themselves to the sun. As EJ Dickson at Rolling Stone reported last week, the concept seems to have originated in the 1986 book The Tao of Sexology, by Qi Institute founder Dr. Stephanie T. Chang. Most other medical experts, however, do not recommend it. “That tissue in the body is about the most delicate tissue there is,” Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., told Rolling Stone. “So why do anything to which one could have an allergic reaction?”

In her post, Metaphysical Meagan said she sunned her butthole for five minutes a day. It is unclear how long Brolin’s was exposed to the sun, or when he will fully recover. “No Sun for Old Buttholes,” another, more crass blogger might say. But not me. I just wish Brolin the best. Love and (not so much) light.

Please Don’t Expose Your Perineum to Direct Sunlight