Lauren Hancock

Professor Brown

IDS 2378

16 November 2021

This I Believe

It’s an extended weekend, and your friends want to enjoy a relaxing day at the beach. The

water is warm and there’s a nice salty breeze in the air, just enough to offset the heat from the

bright sun. A dark brown bottle of tanning oil is passed around, in hopes for the envied

complexion that tells of fun times.

Stop! Tanning oil is detrimental to our health. The leading cause of skin cancer is

exposure to UV rays. Cancer is when cells are denatured and mutate to replicate faster than the

body can maintain. The skin’s contact with the sun's rays, especially on moles or other sensitive

areas, will cause the DNA of its cells to mutate and rapidly replicate themselves, creating a mass.

Tanning oil heightens the probability of contracting this skin condition, because the dark watery

substance attracts the sun's rays. Sun exposure also catalyzes aging, causing wrinkles, frown

lines and forehead creases at a younger age. At the time, tanning oil may seem like an easy way

to get the sun kissed look, but future you will not benefit.

Tanning oil usage in today’s age is surprising, because American beauty standards

currently prefer a natural look. The beauty industry has been pushing products that are meant to

complement natural features instead of covering them up. Light skin tints are preferred over

full-coverage foundations; lip glosses with natural oils over colorful matte lipsticks. With the

direction that beauty is heading, tanning oils feel outdated, yet they are still widely accepted as
“skin care.” Additionally, with social acceptance at an all time high, the usage of tanning oils

feels like a step in the wrong direction. The purpose of tanning oil is to make the skin look darker

than natural; brands pushing the product sends a message that having pale skin is unappealing.

Consumers buy into this idea, regardless of awareness. Part of accepting yourself is self care, and

applying tanning lotions to look different goes against this. Beauty and self help industries are

ever changing platforms that tell consumers what products to use, and right now, tanning oils do

not fit into this picture.

The absence of tanning oil in my life comes from childhood. Being raised in Key West,

FL, meant every weekend was for fishing, diving, and sand castles. My mother would watch me

like a hawk, calling me back to the boat every few hours to rinse the salt and sand off with fresh

water, dry off, and reapply an SPF of at least 70. I hated this ritual, and often pretended I didn’t

hear her, but today I thank her cautious eye. Just last year my mom had a small chunk cut out on

her jawline under her right ear. Luckily the dermatologist had mercy and gave her the smallest

possible stitches, so her scar wouldn’t be obvious. This was not the first time she had a mass

taken, and it probably is not the last. You cannot escape the damage done to the skin during

youth, which is why it is important to avoid products like tanning oils.

Tanning oils should be avoided because they are an outdated product that increases the

likelihood of contracting skin cancer. Wearing SPF and a wide brimmed hat won’t make the

beach any less fun, and future you sends thanks.

Biostatistics is the study of public health data. Biostatisticians are crucial partners to the

health professions, as they provide evidence of causation. Causation is a crucial understanding of

health professions; they are the risks associated with disease. Knowing the risk factors for

disease allows health care providers to take action and implement preventative strategies that
limit these risks. A primary example of this is anti tobacco campaigns, such as tobacco free

florida and the real cost, which are meant to educate the youth about the carcinogenic properties

of cigarettes. If there is a family history of colon cancer, then screening is recommended to start

prior to those who do not. We must accredit biostatisticians for their role in these primary health

care preventions, as they collected the data that proved tobacco's linkage to lung cancer and

genetics to an increased probability of colon cancer. As an aspiring biostatistician, I see the role

biostatistics plays in my belief that tanning oils are outdated and associated with skin cancer.

Biostatistics would provide evidence of the connection between tanning oil usage and skin

cancer incidence, which would be used in health professionals strategies on usage.

Business and communications is an innovative discipline with a focus on reaching

consumers in an increasingly digitized world. Social media allows for this gap between

companies and their targeted audience to be closed. Media communications studies how to

utilize current technologies to convey messages. Understanding the relationship between media

and society is crucial, because this determines what demographics receive those messages. In

order to understand why tanning oil has remained relevant, a professional in media

communications would turn to the media, and compare the marketing of the product to the

identified groups who purchase it. This concept is enticing to businesses because their goal is to

attract certain groups of people, and each form of media has a unique audience. If professionals

see that instagram ads targeting women between ages 15 and 21 yields an increase in tanning oil

sales, then they will continue this model of marketing. Professionals concerned with media

communications must have skills in aesthetics and summarization. Media consumed is visual, so

it needs to pique interest, however, it must be concise. Conveying an enterprise in a short phrase
or an image has potential to attract consumers, which is why media communications is crucial to

the business discipline.

The business discipline is also unlikely to be concerned with the potential health risks of

tanning oils because it would hinder sales. Commercials advertising a new pain reliever on TV

play a monotonous sped-up soundbite of potential side effects at the end, and they are usually

increasingly alarming. Anxiety, fatigue, muscle cramping, stroke, or even death. If this was

played at the beginning of the ad, most people would likely tune out the rest. This concept is true

to tanning oil advertisements as well. Most people do not want to think about getting skin cancer

when they are considering purchasing tanning oil.

Social science is a discipline focused on the interaction between society and people, and

their subsequent behaviors. Psychology is a primary study in this field, as it studies the mind in

pursuit of understanding behavior. An essential concept of the field is nature versus nurture; the

idea that behaviors come about from a combination of genetics and socio environmental

influences. To understand tanning oil relevance, psychologists would turn to social influences

like marketing, media celebrities and popularity. They would be concerned with the social

systems that have prevented this outdated product from being rejected by society, specifically

social media platforms like instagram. Psychologists would not find it surprising that tanning oils

are still used, because beauty standards and social media put pressure on young women to look a

certain way.

Unlike the business discipline, social science would use the potential health risks of

tanning oils in their work. Psychologists would find the risk of skin cancer associated with

tanning oils to be crucial to their study on the human behavior of purchasing them. The key

understanding is this behavior being observed despite the known associated risks. Skin cancer is
the most common form of cancer. A survey on Scottish adolescents found that young women

were more aware of the common warning signs of skin cancer, such as a change in the shape or

color of moles or having several severe sunburns, than their male peers. Yet they were also the

ones that reported more sunbathing activities. Psychologists identified this behavior to be

promoted by social influences (Kyle et al. 2014). Ergo, the social sciences discipline would

accredit tanning oil's presence in today’s society despite known risks to social influences, such as

peers, media, and celebrities.

The arts & humanities discipline is concerned with understanding our past in order to live

a better future. History is a crucial subdiscipline of this sector that is a combination of social,

environmental, and political forces. Using these factors to understand how events take place is

relevant to historians. Arguably, the most important concept of history is using these events to

explain and comprehend our current situation, as history is a continuous subject not limited to

past events. A historian would understand that the history of beauty would need to be considered

to understand tanning oil’s lingering presence in spite of scientific knowledge that excess

exposure to UV rays has carcinogenic effects. Collecting research from a variety of sources helps

historians to piece together a more complete analysis. In efforts to understand tanning oil’s place

in today’s society, historians would research how it gained popularity in the first place. They

would utilize available primary documents from the past that appeal to women’s beauty

standards, like magazines, TV shows and advertisements.

Such historians have already compiled this information. In a compilation of texts on

various histories of women’s beauty, Christina Burr attempts to explain the standards women

face today. Burr analyses Holly Grout’s account of French beauty standards from 1870-1940.

Grout explains that cosmetics were marketed towards middle class women who assumed their
expected roles as home makers and house wifes. These products gained power through a parallel

movement, in which female socialites became celebrities, models, and actresses. Now the

average woman was expected to maintain the home and an appearance, which required products

like tanning oil. Burr generalizes Grant’s analysis to today’s society, and explains that beauty

products are women’s tools to fit into society’s expectations for how they should look (Burr,

2017). The arts and humanities discipline can use this information on the history of beauty

standards to develop alternative methods of advertising cosmetics that are not harmful to women.

STEM is a broad discipline that covers the sciences, technologies, engineering, and

mathematics. A relevant subdiscipline in this field to skin cancer is biology, which is the study of

living things and their processes. An essential concept of biology is understanding cells,

specifically their structures and functions. Cancer occurs at the cellular level, and many studies

have been done on cancerous cells to discover their causes. An increase in direct exposure to UV

rays also increases risk of skin cancer. We are exposed to UV rays from sunlight, and the skin

can only reflect five percent of its intensity, leaving the remaining ninety five to be absorbed into

the upper levels of the skin. When the skin cells in these layers absorb too much radiation they

become denatured and mutate, which appears as freckles or moles (Tidy, 2003). These spots can

be harmless, but it is important to be aware of any changes in color or shape, as this is an

indicator for skin cancer. Tanning oils are problematic because they maximize this absorption;

the dark tint and watery consistency is essentially a hot spot for UV rays. There are individuals

who are at a higher risk of contracting skin cancer than others, specifically those with pale skin,

blonde hair and blue eyes. However, as academic journalist and nurse Natalie Tidy states, “There

is no such thing as ‘no risk’” (Tidy, 2003). In other words, no one is genetically resistant to skin

cancer.
 Discovering the risk factors of skin cancer is just the first step, the STEM discipline is

also responsible for inventing technologies that help to limit these risks. Sunscreens add a

protective layer to the skin that prevents the sun’s rays from being absorbed as much. There are

alternative products to tanning oils that don’t require any UV exposure, such as spray tans, skin

tints and other cosmetics. The purpose of this discipline is to investigate causal relationships and

find intermediate solutions that can benefit all living things.

The health professions discipline is primarily concerned with the symptoms, risk factors,

and effective treatments of diseases. Primary care physicians are the doctors that are typically

visited annually; they conduct standard checkups as well as discuss and plan other appointments,

such as dermatologist visits. Health care professionals prioritize primary prevention methods, as

they prevent diseases like skin cancer prior to diagnosis. Primary prevention methods in skin

cancer include protection from UV rays, such as SPF shirts, hats, and sunscreen. Other

prevention methods are checking the skin regularly and keeping track of any spots, as change

indicates DNA mutations.

While the health professions discipline reflects the research collected by the STEM

discipline, their purpose is more focused. Health professions will interpret these intermediate

solutions as obtainable health prevention methods, and inform the public how they can

implement these methods into their lifestyle. Good communication skills are expected from

health professionals; it is paramount that patients are informed about their health, as many

primary prevention methods involve lifestyle maintenance. Changes are not only responsible to

the individual, but to communities as well. Health professionals work with engineers to build

shading systems over large public areas, such as playgrounds, parks and outdoor sports facilities,

to mitigate sun exposure (Horner, Rhode-Barbarigos, & Adriaenssens, 2014).

 No discipline is free of assumptions, in fact, they are crucial to the advancement of

human knowledge. Assumptions are made from available technologies, only to be challenged

and improved upon when advancements are made. Health professionals assume familial diseases

pose those members a higher risk, and earlier, more frequent screenings are suggested. Historians

with different specializations will provide different perspectives about the past, but these

differences depend on each other to form a more complete picture of the past. Psychology

interprets behaviors based on technologies and methods available to observe brain function, such

as EEGs and social experiments. This is similar to how scientists interpret biological concepts, as

the invention of the microscope changed the understanding of cells and their functions.

Similar to assumptions, bias is in each discipline as well. However, unlike assumptions,

these biases are harmful to the people impacted by each field. The business and communications

discipline especially; marketing shows a clear bias against age, gender and ethnicity. Regardless

of intentions, seeking the ideal consumer only serves to continue categorizing people into neat

boxes and force conformity. This is true to tanning oils especially, as a cosmetic, it subliminally

tells young women what they should look like. The health professions discipline is tarnished

with racial bias. Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. This

is unacceptable considering that the main goal is to provide primary prevention care to everyone.

Not to mention the efficiency incentive, as lack of primary care leads to an increase in demand

for more costly and time consuming treatments. This is especially concerning for skin cancer, as

it is the most common type. STEM is unique in that most of its sub categories follow a strict

scientific method, in which hypotheses are theorized before any research collection. This is

intended to limit confirmation bias, which favors results that serve personal beliefs. However, in

the humanities and social science disciplines, there is no such method in place to limit these
biases. Historians will choose primary sources that support their own theories about events and

timelines, like psychologists have the range to derive causal relations from correlations. This is

important to the relevancy of tanning oils, as these disciplines could apply a certain connotation

to the product, depending on personal opinions towards it.

A limitation of the belief that tanning oils are outdated and lead to an increased risk of

skin cancer is that it can be split into two parts; the former favors the disciplines of business,

humanities, and social sciences, while the latter favors STEM and health professions. Business,

humanities, and social science are better suited to understand the relevance of tanning oils,

because they explain popular culture through marketing and social normatives. STEM and health

professions are more concerned with the risk of skin cancer, because they are more focused on

causation and intermediate solutions that mitigate issues, whether it is an issue of health, safety,

or convenience. This poses a limitation because it does not allow each discipline to provide a

perspective about the belief as a whole.

Perhaps a way to be rid of this limitation is to generalize the belief statement so that each

discipline can interpret it in their own unique way. Rather than the belief having two

subcategories of relevancy and cancer risk, the statement could be that tanning oils are no longer

relevant. The clear and concise nature of this revised statement would allow for each discipline

to take a side and defend it. While business and communications would argue that tanning oils

are still relevant, and provide evidence of successful marketing techniques, health professions

would agree with the statement because of their research on skin cancer risks. It is important to

note that relevancy is a broad term that is to be interpreted by each discipline as they may. In this

instance, business and communications identified relevancy as a term of social acceptance, or

familiarity. Since sales of tanning oils are still active, then the general public is knowledgeable of
the product. In contrast, health professions define relevance in relation to public health practice.

Since tanning oils are linked to higher exposure to UV rays, the product is not relevant to the

primary prevention methods that are crucial to health professionals.

While shortening to the former substatement of the relevancy of tanning oils allows each

discipline to participate in the same conversation, it does not account for the various biases. In

fact, it further enables it by making the statement more interpretive rather than analytical. By

putting the subject of tanning oils relevancy in question, this leaves room for scholars from each

discipline to expect an answer and provide research to support their belief. Perhaps framing the

statement as a question would help to limit biased responses. When posed with a statement, a

response will either show support or refute the claim, which leaves room for bias. Changing

“tanning oils are not relevant” to “are tanning oils relevant in today’s society?” creates the

atmosphere of an open conversation rather than a debate. The question allows each discipline to

take a neutral stance, since causal relationships are not appropriate for each discipline to draw. A

statement forces sides to be chosen, in which neither side is necessarily right.

The belief that tanning oils are an outdated product and lead to an increased likelihood of

contracting skin cancer is a statement that each discipline could take part in, whether it is with

regards to the product’s relevancy or its carcinogenic properties. However, the statement is

limited in that it’s framing has the potential to yield bias by choosing a side, agree or disagree.

Altering the statement to a question of relevancy only allows professionals from each discipline

to consider each side and draw more objective conclusions.

 References

Burr, Christina (2017). The Power of Beauty: Commercial Beauty Culture, the Body, and

Women's Political Activism. Journal of Women’s History, 29(2), 158–164.

https://doi.org/10.1353/jowh.2017.0025

Guy, Machlin, S. R., Ekwueme, D. U., & Yabroff, K. R. (2015). Prevalence and Costs of Skin

Cancer Treatment in the U.S., 2002−2006 and 2007−2011. American Journal of

Preventive Medicine, 48(2), 183–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2014.08.036

Horner, M., Rhode-Barbarigos, L., & Adriaenssens, S. (2014). Site-specific louvered shells for

shading harmful ultraviolet radiation. Building and Environment, 78, 14–22.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.04.005

Kyle, R. G., MacMillan, I., Forbat, L., Neal, R. D., O’Carroll, R. E., Haw, S., & Hubbard, G.

(2014). Scottish adolescents’ sun-related behaviours, tanning attitudes and associations

with skin cancer awareness: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 4(5), e005137–e005137.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005137

Tidy, Natalie (2003). Keeping skin safe from the harmful effects of uv rays: Natalie Tidy sets out

safe practice for preventing skin cancer and examines the issue of sunbed use. (Skin

Cancer). Primary Health Care, 13(6), 32.

https://usf-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01FALSC_USF/un0hgn/cdi_gale_inf

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