
-
Cuba looks to sun to solve its energy crisis
-
Experts warn 'AI-written' paper is latest spin on climate change denial
-
PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'
-
Late birdie burst lifts Ryder to Texas Open lead
-
Five potential Grand National fairytale endings
-
Trump purges national security team after meeting conspiracist
-
More work for McIlroy even with two wins before Masters
-
Trump hopeful of 'great' PGA-LIV golf merger
-
No.1 Scheffler goes for third Masters crown in four years
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump says 'very close to a deal' on TikTok
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
Postecoglou denies taunting Spurs fans in Chelsea defeat
-
Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list

'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.
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."
L.Davis--AMWN