Why do white people tan?

[rcpratt]

Yeah, it's what western culture finds appealing. That's the best answer you're getting.

I don't why I think it, but yes, I find my pasty white skin tone to be somewhat unpleasant. Just seems better darker. WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME SOCIETY?!

 

[purbeast0]

tan skin shows off more curves. it also (usually) indicates said people aren't lazy and they like to do things outdoors, which in turn, would mean they exercise and are fit/healthy.

 

[momeNt]

Tanning is usually done out of self hatred.

 

[Phanuel]

tan skin shows off more curves. it also (usually) indicates said people aren't lazy and they like to do things outdoors, which in turn, would mean they exercise and are fit/healthy.

Or that they can actually tan. When I was spending 3 hrs a day playing soccer or mountain biking, the best I could get was a slightly less pale farmer's tan.

 

[Alienwho]

In poor countries tan people are the poor people because they are outside working the fields, where light people are more upscale due to their indoor jobs.

In rich countries rich people are more tan because they are wealthy enough to have the luxury of time and money which allows them to do outdoor activities thus becoming tan.

 

[Iron Woode]

I tan quite nicely if I am outside a lot.

I am of Ukrainian descent so in winter I am pretty pale.

 

[Ruptga]

The US always used to prefer whiter people, but around the 50s and 60s it changed. Before then being white meant you had enough money and prestige that you didn't have to work outside. After that being white meant that you were too poor to afford time off to go outside for some fun.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Because mixed-race people are the most attractive.

 

[96Firebird]

Redheads don't tan... they also have a much higher risk of the cancerz.

I'm a ginger and I can get a tan in the summer. I tend to be outside a lot, and being on the water (fishing, boating, etc...) helps me tan as well. In the winter I get a little pasty, but I have no problems tanning in the summer.

 

[flexy]

Several decades back (and still today to some extent) a tan indicated wealth/success etc. since "normal people" (Europeans mainly) couldn't afford vacations in the sun. So it basically was a status symbol.

Of course this was different again BEFORE, say, in the 19th century where only laborers who worked outside had a tan and the "high society" and royals had white skin.

So it's a cultural/society thing really. Today I think it doesn't matter really but there might be something to it that people with a tan appear "fitter" and more active.

 

[TheSlamma]

It's great for cancer though

 

[master_shake_]

to look like a purse when they are 40?

 

[StinkyPinky]

I'm of British Isles descent (Irish/Scottish/English) so I'm naturally pasty. However I actually tan easily so generally have a somewhat dusky skin during the summer. I don't do it for any fashion reason, just that I spend a decent amount of times outdoors and often forget to protect myself.

It's not good for your skin to tan though. It's basically damaged skin.

p.s Asians tan as well. My wife gets darker in the summer. In China dark skin is seen as common because they are seen as labourers.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Tanning is actually a fairly recent trend for white Europeans. Off the top of my head, I'd say late 1800s.

Prior to that, only working class people had tanned skin. Upper crust ladies wanted to look pale because that showed they didn't have to work and could afford the luxury to be indoors all day. White powder makeup was commonly used to achieve that affect. An unfortunate side affect was a lot of early cosmetics contained heavy metals like lead.

Around the turn of the 20th century, industrialization led to a growing middle class and increased leisure time. Western society was also in the middle of a big fitness and health craze.

These Nouveau Riche preferred to spend their free time outdoors. By contrast, industrialization had taken the lower class out of the fields and into dark, dingy factories. So you see this 180 degree turn in beauty standards. Pale meant you were a poor, sickly factory worker. A golden tan meant you were a person of health and leisure.

Also, not all white people tan very well. Especially the farther north you go. It's an evolutionary thing. With less sunlight at northern latitudes, the skin needs to be able to collect as much as possible to manufacture enough Vitamin D. Plus there's less of the harmful solar radiation, hence less need for melanin.

They still think like that in Asia. I had a niece who recently came from Vietnam. She told me that they would bleach their skin and do peelers to keep white. They also cover up in the sun.

Tan = poor workers
White = Rich

 

[Imp]

I'm a ginger and I can get a tan in the summer. I tend to be outside a lot, and being on the water (fishing, boating, etc...) helps me tan as well. In the winter I get a little pasty, but I have no problems tanning in the summer.

I knew one redhead well -- yay for sample size -- and she kind of tanned... By "tan", I mean her skin darkened by producing thousands of darker colored freckles.

There was another redhead I sat beside at work. Pretty sure she got spray tans.

 

[Brian Stirling]

I don't tan. I don't think I'm physically capable of tanning. You just pay too much attention to Italians and other delusional pseudo-white individuals.

They do it because of unrealistic beauty standards and melanin-privilege, btw. Non-white people don't know the suffering that individuals of Scots-Irish and Scandinavian descent have to go through.

I make Jim Gaffigan look tanned so I know where you're coming from.

If I'm going to be outside for any length of time I have to have sunscreen or full cover clothes -- or both.


Brian

 

[brianmanahan]

Those of Anglo-Saxon descent are the only true Americans.

 

[brianmanahan]

But, up until a thousand years ago, someone who was black was most likely seen as more beautiful.

not necessarily - in the song of solomon book of the bible (~1000 BC), the jewish woman apologizes for her dark skin. it is "dark but lovely".

having darker skin meant that you had to work outside.

 

[norseamd]

Scandinavian

Nope. I am not pure white but more woodtone in color and I tan perfectly. Actually most Europeans are not true white in skintone.

 

[norseamd]

Not Italians, I am talking about Americans who tan. What do you mean "not physically capable of tanning"?

Some Europeans most especially redheads are basically allergic to the sun and they get terrible sunburns. Most Europeans have no trouble tanning and as long as they do not run out in the sun for hours while they still have no tan then they are no going to have any problems with sunburn.

 

[rcpratt]

Some Europeans most especially redheads are basically allergic to the sun and they get terrible sunburns. Most Europeans have no trouble tanning and as long as they do not run out in the sun for hours while they still have no tan then they are no going to have any problems with sunburn.

I think it's a spectrum, like anything else. I have a pale complexion, don't tan very well, and some of it is just freckling even when I do. But as long as I wear some SPF and don't overdo it, I get some gradually.

 

[ghost recon88]

Tanned girls just look hotter and sexier, period.

 

[Dari]

not necessarily - in the song of solomon book of the bible (~1000 BC), the jewish woman apologizes for her dark skin. it is "dark but lovely".

having darker skin meant that you had to work outside.

Not sure what they meant by "dark" considering that area is fucking hot and, 3000 years ago, the people there probably resembled Dravidians or black Africans. Maybe she was extremely dark? Context is everything...

 

[96Firebird]

I knew one redhead well -- yay for sample size -- and she kind of tanned... By "tan", I mean her skin darkened by producing thousands of darker colored freckles.

There was another redhead I sat beside at work. Pretty sure she got spray tans.

It's weird, the only freckles that multiply when I get tanner are the ones around my elbows and shoulders. Everywhere else, including my face, don't really change... But people also tell me I'm not really a ginger, but I have red hair and freckles. My hair just isn't fire orange.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Tanned girls just look hotter and sexier, period.

I think that's because we've associated tanned skin with health (when it's actually the opposite)