And most men definitely don’t view them favorably. Total UV exposure, which includes indirect sunlight reflected from the ground, can be much higher, which is why sun umbrella advocates emphasize that it should be used only as an adjunct, not a replacement, for other preventive measures like clothing and sunscreen.īut clearly, there’s a big roadblock that’s holding back their widespread adoption – American women either don’t know about sun umbrellas or don’t see them as fashionable. A 2012 study conducted by the Emory Medical School Department of Dermatology found that an umbrella could reduce direct exposure to UV rays by 77% to 99%. Yet they’re effective, cheaper and less messy than applying sunscreen. Even the American Academy of Dermatology suggests umbrellas only for infants, gardeners and tractor drivers. Nonetheless, sun umbrellas haven’t received much attention. While many Asian women might use the umbrella to preserve their fair skin, increasing concerns about skin cancer might serve as an impetus to re-introduce the sun umbrella in Western cultures.Ī rise in skin cancer rates – 5 million new cases and 9,000 deaths from melanoma annually in America – has led to a growing emphasis on reducing sun exposure among public health advocates. Starting in the 1920s, tans started to be seen as a sign of beauty in many Western cultures, while changing fashion styles dictated that a “modern” women should shed the parasol as a must-have accessory. The automobile reduced the need for walking and provided a private shield from the sun for the driver and passengers. So why did American women stop using the umbrella for sun protection? A 2008 survey found 65% of Beijing women used an umbrella to reduce sun exposure, while only 14% of men did – a result found in similar studies. Yet since the 1960s, the inexpensive umbrella has become a widespread low-cost accessory for Asian women to protect them from the sun. The reluctance of the military to authorize their officers and men to use umbrellas is one example of how the umbrella has been gendered. The umbrella also came to be associated with feminine fraility, which made umbrellas less attractive to men. It signaled that a woman was wealthy enough that she didn’t have to work outdoors. In 19th-century Western cultures – much like in Asia today – pale skin was perceived as a sign of beauty. When it comes to protection from the sun, umbrellas have been long used by women far more than men. Like other technologies, ranging from radios to thermos bottles, 20th-century mass production turned umbrellas from a status symbol for the wealthy into a tool for the masses. Fashionable, wealthy women primarily used them, a reflection of the umbrella’s high cost and the status it denoted.īy the 1850s, the introduction of folding metal ribs and lighter materials, like silk, reduced the weight and cost of the umbrella, transforming it into an essential component of the wardrobes of middle-class and upper-class women. Umbrellas made for individual use didn’t appear in Europe until the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and they were deployed to ward off both the sun and the rain. Thousands of years ago, servants in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India wielded large umbrellas to shade rulers from the sun. And “umbrella” originates from the Latin “umbra,” which means “shade” or “shadow.” The origin of the word “parasol” comes from the French “para,” for “stop,” and “sol,” for sun. The umbrella was actually invented to protect people from the sun. So why did the sun umbrella fall out of favor in the U.S.? And can Americans – women and men – ever be convinced to carry an umbrella when it’s hot and sunny, not just when it’s wet? From status symbol to tool of the masses
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