Based on her observations, many Vietnamese have heard of the aphrodisiac myth mainly because of the extravagant “fad use of rhino horn” among certain business elites. Just a small percentage of Vietnamese people use rhino horn for any purpose at all, says Michele Thompson, a professor of Southeast Asian history at Southern Connecticut State University who authored the 2015 book, Vietnamese Traditional Medicine: A Social History. “In fact, traditional Chinese medicine never has used rhinoceros horn as an aphrodisiac: This is a myth of the Western media and in some parts of Asia is viewed as a kind of anti-Chinese hysteria.” Eric Dinerstein, who served as the chief scientist at the WWF for 25 years, summed up the issue in his 2003 book, The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. But experts say neither Chinese nor Vietnamese traditional medicine ever viewed rhino horn as an aphrodisiac to boost flagging libidos. To be clear, rhino horn has historically been used as a traditional medicinal ingredient in countries such as China and Vietnam. But such usage is now, rather incredibly, being documented in Vietnam as the media myth turns full circle," according to the TRAFFIC report. “Use of rhino horn as an aphrodisiac in Asian traditional medicine has long been debunked as a denigrating, unjust characterization of the trade by Western media. Other conservationists have also criticized media outlets for incorrectly tying the aphrodisiac issue so exclusively to Asian traditional medicine or folk therapies. The TRAFFIC report even implies the Vietnamese buyers who believe in rhino horn’s aphrodisiac powers may have picked up on a media obsession with the idea. Slogans compare rhino horn with “a luxury car,” tout its ability to “improve concentration and cure hangovers,” and trumpet “rhino horn with wine is the alcoholic drink of millionaires.” Popular Vietnamese Web sites mix unproved medical claims with luxury sales pitches. Black market dealers have also pushed the idea-supposedly sparked by local media gossip-that rhino horn can cure cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The Vietnamese black market exemplifies how “urban myth and dubious hype” can encourage demand for rhino horn products-as both medicinal and status-boosting luxury products-the TRAFFIC report says. "But it’s not the widespread demand driving the rhino horn trade.” “I would never say that (aphrodisiac) is never a use, because I’m sure people buy into the myth,” says Leigh Henry, senior policy advisor on species conservation and advocacy at the WWF. Overall, conservationists say there is no sweeping aphrodisiac craze driving lust for rhino horn. This example stands out because it is rare, however. That group also included some men who also apparently believed rhino horn could cure impotence and enhance sexual performance. A 2012 report by TRAFFIC International, the World Wildlife Fund's trade monitoring program, described how wealthy Vietnamese and Asian expatriate business elites in Vietnam would “routinely mix rhino horn powder with water or alcohol as a general health and hangover-curing tonic”-an extravagant version of a detox routine. There is one group of buyers in Vietnam that may partially reflect the stereotype of horny Asians seeking a rhino horn fix. Most of the desire for rhino horn seems unrelated to any wish for a raging hard-on, experts say. A modern market for rhino horn necklaces, bracelets and beads has also sprung up. Wealthy buyers bid for antique rhino horn carvings such as cups or figurines to display or as investments. Some purchase horn chunks or powder for traditional medicinal purposes, to ingest or to give others as an impressive gift. Certain buyers in Vietnam and China-the largest and second-largest black market destinations respectively-covet rhino horn products for different reasons. These days the main threat to the surviving rhinos comes from the illegal rhino horn trade between Africa and Asia. Historically rhino populations were decimated by uncontrolled trophy hunting during the European colonial era. ![]() ![]() The reality behind the demand is far more complex. But this prurient tidbit overlooks the main factors driving the illegal rhino horn trade-and may even be reinforcing false beliefs about the substance’s powers. Mainstream media coverage blamed its usual suspects: Asian men who supposedly buy rhino horn as a crude form of Viagra. The brazen slaying and dehorning of an endangered white rhino in a wildlife preserve near Paris last month spurred widespread outrage. Only two females remain, pushing the subspecies closer to extinction. Editor’s Note (3/20/18): This article is being resurfaced following the death of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino.
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