Dubai Telegraph - 'Snip-snip! Hooray!': TikTok trend dispels vasectomy myths

EUR -
AED 3.8756
AFN 72.200575
ALL 98.139539
AMD 411.532283
ANG 1.916419
AOA 962.319203
ARS 1053.188708
AUD 1.630218
AWG 1.899315
AZN 1.784231
BAM 1.955003
BBD 2.146925
BDT 127.068214
BGN 1.956891
BHD 0.397718
BIF 3140.020304
BMD 1.055175
BND 1.421121
BOB 7.348005
BRL 6.129194
BSD 1.063362
BTN 89.676253
BWP 14.428257
BYN 3.479882
BYR 20681.429409
BZD 2.143327
CAD 1.478495
CDF 3023.076626
CHF 0.936043
CLF 0.037472
CLP 1033.976525
CNY 7.638303
CNH 7.648689
COP 4726.12869
CRC 542.978712
CUC 1.055175
CUP 27.962137
CVE 110.22008
CZK 25.288011
DJF 189.351934
DKK 7.458214
DOP 64.043899
DZD 141.622416
EGP 52.009895
ERN 15.827625
ETB 129.779309
FJD 2.40258
FKP 0.83167
GBP 0.831235
GEL 2.880458
GGP 0.83167
GHS 17.173001
GIP 0.83167
GMD 74.917819
GNF 9164.265159
GTQ 8.216651
GYD 222.469334
HKD 8.212268
HNL 26.846059
HRK 7.526869
HTG 139.81302
HUF 408.163026
IDR 16774.7496
ILS 3.959224
IMP 0.83167
INR 89.068533
IQD 1392.932319
IRR 44414.948032
ISK 147.313122
JEP 0.83167
JMD 168.341393
JOD 0.748221
JPY 164.500191
KES 136.329796
KGS 90.952195
KHR 4308.244201
KMF 492.080753
KPW 949.658078
KRW 1481.418127
KWD 0.324772
KYD 0.886139
KZT 524.106404
LAK 23352.482837
LBP 95221.093219
LKR 310.793338
LRD 200.438313
LSL 19.102015
LTL 3.115657
LVL 0.638265
LYD 5.151876
MAD 10.572991
MDL 19.161191
MGA 4961.977776
MKD 61.584316
MMK 3427.167142
MNT 3585.4848
MOP 8.519528
MRU 42.330748
MUR 50.047248
MVR 16.302766
MWK 1843.848551
MXN 21.712439
MYR 4.735102
MZN 67.423993
NAD 19.102015
NGN 1777.041223
NIO 39.134051
NOK 11.764987
NPR 143.481165
NZD 1.799094
OMR 0.406253
PAB 1.063367
PEN 4.030158
PGK 4.274258
PHP 62.064863
PKR 295.443194
PLN 4.34422
PYG 8298.578641
QAR 3.87682
RON 4.97705
RSD 116.980897
RUB 103.919035
RWF 1459.505187
SAR 3.964662
SBD 8.846117
SCR 14.382386
SDG 634.688134
SEK 11.596378
SGD 1.419896
SHP 0.83167
SLE 24.073878
SLL 22126.461188
SOS 607.652355
SRD 37.226828
STD 21839.991486
SVC 9.304208
SYP 2651.158922
SZL 19.108032
THB 36.972803
TJS 11.329783
TMT 3.703664
TND 3.346836
TOP 2.471323
TRY 36.237853
TTD 7.226055
TWD 34.365466
TZS 2801.489873
UAH 43.929697
UGX 3902.409597
USD 1.055175
UYU 44.831729
UZS 13603.455994
VES 47.479192
VND 26796.168359
VUV 125.272516
WST 2.950778
XAF 655.689778
XAG 0.035082
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.851663
XDR 0.801074
XOF 655.686672
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.580476
ZAR 19.275884
ZMK 9497.834156
ZMW 29.087146
ZWL 339.76591
  • CMSC

    0.0700

    24.61

    +0.28%

  • CMSD

    -0.0200

    24.73

    -0.08%

  • BCC

    1.4200

    142.55

    +1%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.24

    +0.15%

  • SCS

    -0.3000

    13.37

    -2.24%

  • RIO

    -0.5800

    60.62

    -0.96%

  • BCE

    -0.4800

    27.21

    -1.76%

  • NGG

    -0.7800

    62.12

    -1.26%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.42

    +0.51%

  • GSK

    -0.4100

    35.11

    -1.17%

  • RBGPF

    59.2500

    59.25

    +100%

  • RELX

    -0.4700

    46.12

    -1.02%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0400

    7.07

    -0.57%

  • BP

    0.4100

    28.57

    +1.44%

  • AZN

    0.1000

    65.29

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.2800

    8.75

    +3.2%

'Snip-snip! Hooray!': TikTok trend dispels vasectomy myths
'Snip-snip! Hooray!': TikTok trend dispels vasectomy myths / Photo: STF - AFP

'Snip-snip! Hooray!': TikTok trend dispels vasectomy myths

Squeezing his eyes shut, a man breaks into song while filming himself getting a vasectomy -- a TikTok trend helping dispel misinformation about the procedure whose demand has soared following US upheaval over abortion rights.

Text size:

Men across the United States have chosen to get snipped since the Supreme Court scrapped the federal right to abortion when it overturned Roe v. Wade last June, according to multiple urologists and reproductive health experts.

Myths about vasectomy -- a contraception method popularized as the "male pill" -- have long flourished on the internet, fueling what experts describe as negative attitudes about the procedure that has often been used as a punchline for emasculating jokes.

Viral TikTok videos packed with buffoonery and mirth seek not only to demolish some of the myths, but to also promote the procedure as an option for men in solidarity with women robbed of basic reproductive rights.

Some men have gone as far as filming themselves, from the waist up, while undergoing the surgery.

"You're getting neutered" was the title of one such video by Las Vegas-based comedian Jimmy McMurrin, which garnered over five million views.

The common misconceptions include that vasectomy is akin to castration or that it affects the libido and hormonal production, said Texas-based influencer Keith Laue, who created multiple TikTok videos about his procedure.

"I do believe they (TikTok videos) are helping to fight the myths and misinformation around vasectomies," the 23-year-old told AFP.

"I still have testicles. Everything is normal."

- 'Baby factory' -

The trend stands in contrast to many others on TikTok, a platform that experts say is flooded with unqualified influencers who peddle health misinformation, including vaccine and abortion-related falsehoods, often to boost engagement and views.

"Many of the recent vasectomy videos on TikTok highlight the Roe vs Wade ruling as the impetus for the decision to get a vasectomy, and how the onus of birth control should not fall mostly on women," Katrine Wallace, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, told AFP.

There is evidence that vasectomy rates have "significantly increased" since the court ruling, urologist Marc Goldstein from the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University told AFP.

That was echoed by several other urologists and fertility specialists contacted by AFP, with many reporting a multi-fold increase in vasectomies and a sharp spike in web traffic to pages offering information about the procedure.

Vasectomy, which prevents sperm from being released into semen, typically takes only a few minutes.

Among the TikTok promoters of vasectomy, which experts say is less invasive and has a higher success rate than female sterilization methods like tubal ligation, are women.

Many cheered their husbands after they emerged from the procedure in viral videos using titles such as "Snip-Snip! Hooray!" and "Closing the baby factory."

Also gaining some traction were educational videos by health experts who corrected wrong perceptions, including that vasectomy does not cause impotence or increase the risk of prostate cancer.

- 'Inaccuracies, distortions' -

The trend appeared to resonate with young people inclined to use TikTok –- a platform which allows users to speak directly into the camera, creating a sense of intimacy -- as their primary search tool even for crucial information related to health.

"From my practice, I know that people bring information into the exam room even before they see a (health) provider," Jonas Swartz, from Duke University, told AFP.

"My concern is that the videos sometimes offer low quality health information. People should have access to accurate, evidence-based information. TikTok is not designed to filter that."

Several videos about vasectomy which otherwise relayed accurate information about the procedure, falsely asserted that it was completely reversible.

While surgical reversal can be attempted, its success depends on how much time has passed since the vasectomy and the method used for the original procedure, Wallace and other experts said.

"While I'm glad to learn about people using their TikTok following to try and fight misinformation, I'm also worried that it might have introduced more inaccuracies and distortions," Yotam Ophir, from New York's University at Buffalo, told AFP.

"TikTok audiences often confuse fame and followers with expertise. To put our hopes on TikTok mini celebrities is to assume that they know how to identify reliable information and avoid misinformation -- this seems unlikely."

D.Naveed--DT