Why Are People Sunning Their Arseholes on TikTok?

Sorry in advance if you’re eating breakfast, but the perineum (AKA the “gooch”) is the area between the pubic bone and the anal cavity. For some, sunning this area (also known as “perineum sunning”) for at least three minutes at a time apparently creates a surge in energy equivalent to “walking around in the sun all day”, “recharging” or “having a cup of coffee”. And with #perinuemsunning currently getting over 2.7 million views on TikTok, it’s not even particularly niche as a “wellness” trend. 

But why? What exactly is going on? Why are so many people spreading their legs and allowing the sun to blast UV directly into their butts? It’s time to get to the bottom of the internet’s favourite new kick. 

“It honestly feels really good to have the warmth of the sun shining down there,” explains Abushady, a TikTok user and regular gooch sunner based in New York. “It’s a feeling you can’t really describe unless you experience it. It’s like the sunlight fills your being from the bottom up.” Abushady tells me that his body and mind were exposed to the joys of perineum sunning while living in India and spending hours in the sun practicing yoga. 

“When coming back home to stay in Pennsylvania, I would go out into the sun with my yoga mat completely naked and do my practices for two to three hours,” he continues. “Certain poses mean the entire body is exposed, such as a headstand or happy baby pose. I’m not really intentionally going out just to sun my anus – it’s more about being free.”

But what about sunburn? Surely this is asking for the ring of fire? “I don’t worry about sunburn, because I live a lifestyle and eat foods that protect my skin from the inside out,” he says. 

“Some people might scoff at this, but a phrase that I like to say is: ‘the sun burns you for your sins’. The reason people get burnt is because, a) they simply don’t expose themselves to the sun often enough so haven’t built a tolerance and, b) they live such a toxic lifestyle that their blood is toxic and out of tune with nature, so it reacts with the sun creating a ‘burn’ I intentionally live and eat in such a way that I can be in the sun for hours without sunscreen and not get burned.”

If you think what Abushady is saying sounds questionable at best and actually quite dangerous (note: sunburn has not been proven to be caused by a “toxic lifestyle”), then you’re definitely not alone. For many, there are plenty of good reasons to not stick this delicate little section of your body towards the great ball of fire. 

Dr Karan Raj recently posted a video on TikTok explaining the dangers of exposing this thin layer of skin to the sun. “Please don’t harvest solar energy with your butthole,” he says in the clip. “The perineum is an area of thin tissue between your back passage and your genitals. The reason it’s called the area where your ‘sun don’t shine’ is because biology and evolution made sure that it was hidden away. The rays from the sun can increase the risk of burning, irritation and skin cancers.”

Speaking to me further about the video, he says that “the main takeaway is that tanning isn’t a particularly safe exercise, particularly without appropriate sunscreen. Especially not perineal tanning. There is absolutely zero evidence that focussed tanning at this spot provides any health benefit”.

Despite these pretty imposing risks, plenty of sunners continue to sun. Canadian couple James and Chelsea sun their gooches at least once a week while travelling around in their van. They aren’t shy about using the perineum sunning hashtag while documenting their escapades on their joint Instagram account and were very happy to tell me more via DM. They explain that they “learned about sunning from a podcast about orgasmic enlightenment. When we get the chance we drop our drawers and lay on our bed with our feet up in the air to catch those rays! A good 30 seconds to five minutes seems to be our sweet spot.” 

But why? “The benefits have been wild! It's like having a cup of coffee in the morning,” they say. “Our energy levels go up, we feel recharged and ready for the day, not to mention the sexual benefits of doing this together. It heightens our sexual drive and being exposed like that together brings us closer than ever. We’re so much more comfortable with each other and relaxed about our bodies being free and open to one another.”

A lot of gooch sunners seem to cite the freedom they experience while sunning – they’re not just doing it for the so-called “energy” benefits, but for how it makes them feel internally. 22-year-old American Jafia, who also likes to post his gooch sunning habits on Instagram, appears to echo this: “When I'm out doing yoga and if the sun is shining I go for it! One big benefit is that it’s helped me be more comfortable in my skin. You see those shameful parts of you and choose to be greater than them. The sun feels great on every part of my body, so why neglect the root of our power?”

That said, Jafia isn’t immune to believing in certain unproven health benefits either. “The sun is a disinfectant, so it kinda makes sense,” he says. “It’s where the ‘waste’ comes out from our body so why not let the sun disinfect it? I’ve also heard that sunlight on testicles can boost testosterone in men [editor’s note: this hasn’t yet been conclusively and scientifically proven] I feel more embodied and more who I am. It feels so intuitively good. Do what you want in life!”

When asked what he’d say to people who say it’s a health risk, he responded “I would ask them why they believe it is a health risk. I would just talk with them for a while if they’re interested, and say there are risks in everything. Everyone knows you can get burned if you spend too long in the sun, so just be careful and do it for short periods of time.”

After speaking to a bunch of sunners, it soon becomes clear that a lot of those who swear by this trend also practice yoga. Plenty of people who like doing yoga nude or roaming around clothes-free, for instance, appear to use gooch sunning as an addition to their other practices. Despite the fact sunning has no proven science to back it up, many of the people I spoke to speak about butthole tanning as the grand finale of power moves.

“Let that sunshine right on your bare skin, we believe wearing underwear or a bathing suit would defeat the whole purpose,” say James and Chelsea. “Best positions to get into would be laying on your back with your feel up in the air – happy baby pose – or on your other side you can do downward dog. Whatever feels comfortable in the moment and the most exposed position you can get into.”

So while medical practitioners make it absolutely clear that this is definitely not something you should try, these perennial sunners don’t seem to be slowing down on repeatedly sticking it where the sun doesn’t shine.

Many of us city dwellers will never get the opportunity to soak up the sun and recharge through our butt without getting arrested. So for the majority of us, a coffee will have to do I guess. Which is probably for the best. 

@elizabethmccaf