NationStates Jolt Archive

The tan has always been a mark of beauty. Boys and girls both will openly drool over another and whisper to you "Did ya see his tan." It is also generally percieved that the Tan is healthy. A tan is actually a layer of burnt dead skin, so my question is, where does the facination to be brown come in to fashion. Is it that white people (Sometimes heard as Wigga's) are just that desperate to be black? I don't know, but I do know that I got a spray tan yesterday, and a day after I look like an Oompa Loompa with a severe case of Leprosey. So why, when, and where did the tan become such a loved bodily icon? Whats your opinion pastey!?

Probably when the more physically attractive of the species were always those who were working outside in the fields. Those who never went outside were often sickly, weak individuals. As time went on things have changed.

Probably when the more physically attractive of the species were always those who were working outside in the fields. Those who never went outside were often sickly, weak individuals. As time went on things have changed.

So your saying people relate paleness (or just no tan) to being sick?

tans haven't always been looked upon as a beautiful thing... i know the tudors in england (and beyond) believed pale skin was fashionable (it showed wealth... as a wealthy person wouldn't need to work under the sun as a farmer etc.) and thus, they were usually the first to be picked up as it is with society. i suppose that can be considered as beauty... although in truth, it's not, LOL. maybe it's a thing we automatically do as travel has gone world wide 'tanned skin -> can afford to go on holidays/healthy -> worth being seen with -> might get something out of it -> shucks, i wouldn't mind a piece of him'

maybe i'm just very shallow? =P

and maybe someone will be able to answer this for me: [dare i say ancient?] japanese women... caked in white make up? i thought it was colour contrast, but i'm not sure. culture experts?

tans haven't always been looked upon as a beautiful thing... i know the tudors in england (and beyond) believed pale skin was fashionable (it showed wealth... as a wealthy person wouldn't need to work under the sun as a farmer etc.) and thus, they were usually the first to be picked up as it is with society. i suppose that can be considered as beauty... although in truth, it's not, LOL. maybe it's a thing we automatically do as travel has gone world wide 'tanned skin -> can afford to go on holidays/healthy -> worth being seen with -> might get something out of it -> shucks, i wouldn't mind a piece of him'

maybe i'm just very shallow? =P

and maybe someone will be able to answer this for me: [dare i say ancient?] japanese women... caked in white make up? i thought it was colour contrast, but i'm not sure. culture experts?


Tans were made fashionable by Coco Chanel in the 30's but even still it wasnt until the 50's they became fashionable

Being tan hasn't always been a mark of beauty. It use to be the oppisite pale was sexy because it meant you didn't have to work out side so were most likely well off or a sign of aristocracy, at least for women I don't know about men. Thats why women use to powder their faces white.

I really don't care much about skin color myself. Tans aren't especially attractive to me.

Being tan hasn't always been a mark of beauty. It use to be the oppisite pale was sexy because it meant you didn't have to work out side so were most likely well off or a sign of aristocracy, at least for women I don't know about men. Thats why women use to powder their faces white.
Ooh i do like.

Another, why does the sport of ballroom dancing insists on the dancers being bronzed to the point that they let off an eerie glow of orange?

I don't know when tans became so popular either. My skin is super-white, and I can not tan, if I try, I burn-and then it fades right back to white again. I like to think upon the aforementioned, that pale skin is beautiful because of the status symbol it gives you-not being a manual laborer. As old fashioned as it may be. :)

Ooh i do like.

Another, why does the sport of ballroom dancing insists on the dancers being bronzed to the point that they let off an eerie glow of orange?


I can't say I've been watching too much ballroom dancing! :)

I really don't care much about skin color myself. Tans aren't especially attractive to me.
Same here. I prefer paler skin. No, I'm not any kind of white supremacist Nazi, so don't ask.

I much prefer bronzed skin...mmmm.
I don't know why people find tans more attractive, but I just do.
Also, apparantly being darker (tanned) makes a person look thinner. That might be why many girls go to great lengths.
I hate the OTT look though, not only does it look so orange, it's unhealthy.
I think the best tan is one you got while wearing protection, it's not so obvious and dangerous then.

I've never really been tan, I enjoy being fair though! I'm not a fan of tan guys either, ick...

I'm fairly tan for the most part ... not super-tan ... but my America Indian skin does brown up nicely in summer without much effort. I do a lot of gardening and other outdoor work, though, so it makes sense.

I've never set out to deliberately brown, but I figure to each their own. It's your skin ... do what you want to it.

pshah! Tans are for those in favor of a swift death. And anyways, as an American male of pasty Northern European descent I can say I like girls who aren't so vain as to lay in the sun like some sort of pagan (or God forbid lay in one of those cancer booths).

tans haven't always been looked upon as a beautiful thing... i know the tudors in england (and beyond) believed pale skin was fashionable (it showed wealth... as a wealthy person wouldn't need to work under the sun as a farmer etc.) and thus, they were usually the first to be picked up as it is with society. i suppose that can be considered as beauty... although in truth, it's not, LOL. maybe it's a thing we automatically do as travel has gone world wide 'tanned skin -> can afford to go on holidays/healthy -> worth being seen with -> might get something out of it -> shucks, i wouldn't mind a piece of him'

maybe i'm just very shallow? =P

and maybe someone will be able to answer this for me: [dare i say ancient?] japanese women... caked in white make up? i thought it was colour contrast, but i'm not sure. culture experts?
AFAIK you're right. During the 20th century as international travel became a possibility for the upper and then middle classes. They could afford to fly to nice, warm, sunny places for their holidays while the lower classes were stuck in factories and the like for all but two weeks of the year. Now that the vast majority of people can afford to go to sunny places in summer, or at least rent a tanning bed or buy a bottle of orange goo, I suspect most people will start not to care about tans so much. Add to that the exposed risks of skin cancer, there might even be a backlash against them.

Not sure about the Japanese ladies though.

I don't know when tans became so popular either. My skin is super-white, and I can not tan, if I try, I burn-and then it fades right back to white again. I like to think upon the aforementioned, that pale skin is beautiful because of the status symbol it gives you-not being a manual laborer. As old fashioned as it may be. :)
sadly thats a few centuries behind, new decade new sense of fashion and beauty. i liked when stick figures wernt the icon of sexiness too..

Being tan hasn't always been a mark of beauty. It use to be the oppisite pale was sexy because it meant you didn't have to work out side so were most likely well off or a sign of aristocracy, at least for women I don't know about men. Thats why women use to powder their faces white.
Now its the other way round; those who have time to go out sunbathing rather than work are the rich ones

A tan is actually a layer of burnt dead skin,Er - actually it's not. At least, not any more than your skin is a layer of dead cells anyway.

The darkening is melanin produced by the body below the surface layer (and this is in part of the skin which is very much still alive) to protect itself from UV. There's a balance between excessive UV which is damaging, and too little UV.

Too much can cause cancer, too little leads to vitamin D defficiency, something that happens to some Asian people in the UK because of the grotty climate and ethnic habits of staying covered outdoors. Their skin lightens considerably in a desperate attempt to allow more UV into their dermis to make enough vitamin D to stay healthy. People who have severe reactions to UV also suffer from vitD shortage.

Like most things - moderation is the answer. Tanning far beyond your natural skin tone is bad, but so is avoiding the sun completely.

Tanning is so overrated. Give me a farmer's tan any day, and I'll show you real love.

I always thought the appeal of tanning was because it made the person look more exotic.

One theory about the popularity of tanning in the 20th century that I've heard is that it's linked to the geographical location of Hollywood and the popularity of American films. As Hollywood became established as the centre of American film production, a tan became the norm for movie stars, due to the fact that they spent so much time in the California sun. The general public wanted to emulate their silver screen idols, and so a tan became desirable, especially after the introduction of colour cinema.
I'm not sure if it's true, but it's an interesting idea.

Personally, I think tanning is over-rated: it can look good if it's natural, but as a pale-skinned person living in the country with the highest skin cancer rate in the world, I would never risk it, and orange fake tans just look ridiculous.

The tan has always been a mark of beauty.

Absolutely wrong. From immemorial times until the second half of 20th century it was a fair skin that was a sign of beauty, at least in the west (not very aware of other cultures). Being tanned was reserved to low classes, and women were avoiding it at all costs.

Two summers ago my then-girlfriend (who was pale Irish) got a tan and for the rest of that year her skin had a different taste... anyone care to explain?

I love tans, and i tan well like my mom does. IT is kool being tan and you don't burn as easily. I think tans look sexy on girls

Tanning is so overrated. Give me a farmer's tan any day, and I'll show you real love.
A farmers tan is a mark of humility.

i'm not a big fan of the tan. i'm originally from yorkshire and whenever the sun would pop out every withered old lady (including my mum :| ) in the slum i lived in would stip naked in their gardens and get baked, and what with the lack of tall fences... yeah, traumatising.
also my skin really doesn't like the heat, so all that kind of mixes together in my brain and makes me find pale skin really attractive.