General Discussion

Xipe Totec

(44,558 posts)

12. For the same reason those with curly hair want it straight, and those with straight hair

Reply to MoonRiver (Original post)

Sun Sep 22, 2013, 11:55 AM

Sep 2013

want it curly.

vive la différence.!

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

93 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

If light skin is so desirable, why do white people get tans? [View all] MoonRiver Sep 2013 OP

I don't! Lizzie Poppet Sep 2013 #1

I avoid it too, but I know so many people who are obsessed with tanning. MoonRiver Sep 2013 #3

Yep...I know a few. Lizzie Poppet Sep 2013 #5

"...the pastier, the tastier! " LOL! BlueJazz Sep 2013 #7

I think the dark tan is really a thing of the past rl6214 Sep 2013 #19

actually, yes it does, sort of... magical thyme Sep 2013 #89

Growing up in Florida, my Mom had her sons wear Eleanors38 Sep 2013 #76

For the same reason women wear eyeshadow snooper2 Sep 2013 #2

yes MoonRiver Sep 2013 #4

It says that you have been outside. delta17 Sep 2013 #6

Tanned all over has status; tanned face, arms and legs from working out of doors does not. FarCenter Sep 2013 #10

yes, tanning is a status symbol now. Scout Sep 2013 #83

A bit of a silly post but here's the proper answer. go west young man Sep 2013 #8

The abstract says tanning promotes self-esteem, which reduces death anxiety daleo Sep 2013 #14

So, I remember being a kid pipi_k Sep 2013 #9

"I don't tan easily, so I gave up." KansDem Sep 2013 #34

I gave up tanning at 19 when I read in a Cosmo magazine that a bad sunburn CrispyQ Sep 2013 #39

OMG pipi_k Sep 2013 #88

One reason is to show that you have enough money Greybnk48 Sep 2013 #11

It's my understanding that tanning and the desirability of tanned skin SheilaT Sep 2013 #28

Your second point is the historical one. Never heard your first point. WinkyDink Sep 2013 #45

For the same reason those with curly hair want it straight, and those with straight hair Xipe Totec Sep 2013 #12

I remember that phenomenon when I was a kid. MoonRiver Sep 2013 #18

i think you're taking whiteness a bit too literally BOG PERSON Sep 2013 #13

I'm sure that's part of it laundry_queen Sep 2013 #15

Several years ago I saw a chart that plotted sun screen use vs anti-depressants LiberalArkie Sep 2013 #23

I agree I feel better when I get sunshine. Being in Ohio were it is cloudy, raining or snowing most doc03 Sep 2013 #27

A huge percentage of us have a vitamin D deficiency Arugula Latte Sep 2013 #43

I go into a funk during the fall time change Ruby the Liberal Sep 2013 #59

Get out and hunt more! Feel better, eat better. Eleanors38 Sep 2013 #77

Hunt? Ruby the Liberal Sep 2013 #90

We all kill to eat, but I understand. Eleanors38 Sep 2013 #92

Leisure class signal treestar Sep 2013 #16

exactly, glad to see someone else knows this also. It shows you don't have to work, but can sit in uppityperson Sep 2013 #53

Browns want to be white? JustAnotherGen Sep 2013 #17

It's a generalization, but drop by a grocery store, or mall in Dubai and check out the Skin Whitenin JCMach1 Sep 2013 #48

See post 16 JustAnotherGen Sep 2013 #56

Arab and South Asians have a completely different history though... JCMach1 Sep 2013 #57

Agree on convoluted and complicated JustAnotherGen Sep 2013 #62

Skin bleaching is a massive business malaise Sep 2013 #63

People have pointed out that the new Miss America couldn't have won a pageant in India. KamaAina Sep 2013 #84

I'm not sure the premise is completely correct, light skin... yawnmaster Sep 2013 #20

No, it's because white people are so secure in their privilege KitSileya Sep 2013 #21

Sun exposure improves, or at leasts *masks*, a lot of skin disorders... Smarmie Doofus Sep 2013 #22

I am fortunate that I tan very easily, I spend a day in the sun and get a great tan. Then after doc03 Sep 2013 #24

I always wondered that, myself. GoCubsGo Sep 2013 #25

I think it's like hair. Most people don't like whatever they've got. Egalitarian Thug Sep 2013 #26

Love that quotation! MoonRiver Sep 2013 #29

It should be our national Mantra. n/t Egalitarian Thug Sep 2013 #30

Yep MoonRiver Sep 2013 #31

Ha! I agree. Eleanors38 Sep 2013 #78

Not so much... bobclark86 Sep 2013 #32

Silly isn't it? Not only that ladies, it makes you wrinkled and aged prematurely. Cleita Sep 2013 #33

I don't know any browns who want to be white. bravenak Sep 2013 #35

I probably should have explained more in my OP. MoonRiver Sep 2013 #37

Oh yeah. bravenak Sep 2013 #38

I don't. LWolf Sep 2013 #36

A fair percentage of people are just peculiar Bosonic Sep 2013 #40

Microwave Lady! MoonRiver Sep 2013 #50

You answered your own question in your subject line Glassunion Sep 2013 #41

I've heard sociologists suggest that it's to show they can afford not to work. Donald Ian Rankin Sep 2013 #42

Message auto-removed Name removed Sep 2013 #44

Welcome to DU hhjj! panader0 Sep 2013 #46

How do feel about drones? uppityperson Sep 2013 #49

Tans != skin colour. (nt) Posteritatis Sep 2013 #47

Because tanned white, rather than white, is the perceived ideal? Democracyinkind Sep 2013 #51

I used to prefer tanned skin when I was younger LittleBlue Sep 2013 #52

It looks nicer. sibelian Sep 2013 #54

I'm a white person and I don't get a tan. Of course that's not for lack of trying. kestrel91316 Sep 2013 #55

Tanning adds vitamin D and boosts endorphins Ruby the Liberal Sep 2013 #58

Oh, that's another benefit for me I forgot about laundry_queen Sep 2013 #81

There is a connection between ovarian cysts and acne? Ruby the Liberal Sep 2013 #91

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) isn't just ovarian cysts laundry_queen Sep 2013 #93

Thailand�s skin whitening craze: How far will it go? yuiyoshida Sep 2013 #60

Allure magazine does an annual Beauty issue. Allure is about as mainstream as you can get Number23 Sep 2013 #61

This deserves it's own thread! JustAnotherGen Sep 2013 #64

Girl, we are coming into our own, aren't we? Number23 Sep 2013 #85

Stops them from looking insipid. dipsydoodle Sep 2013 #65

Because they're dying to get skin cancer theHandpuppet Sep 2013 #66

I can't avoid getting tanned. I'm outside more than in and I have a dark complexion to begin with. B Calm Sep 2013 #67

I'm naturally tan. a la izquierda Sep 2013 #68

caucasians may be like some color, but they still wanna be caucasians. KG Sep 2013 #69

My neighbors are appalled that I tan Recursion Sep 2013 #70

I know a lot of people Dorian Gray Sep 2013 #71

I'm as white as the new blown snow madokie Sep 2013 #72

2 of my kids are like that laundry_queen Sep 2013 #82

Actually, people used to avoid tans because it meant you were low-class and had to work in fields. DanTex Sep 2013 #73

Sociologist Thoorstein Veblen, the man who coined tblue37 Sep 2013 #74

Never understood that myself LostOne4Ever Sep 2013 #75

The Power erpowers Sep 2013 #79

Fashion AngryAmish Sep 2013 #80

Best OP ever!!!! NCTraveler Sep 2013 #86

Maybe because skin that is very pale sometimes indicates a poor state of health? Zorra Sep 2013 #87