Comments
I have always thought that tanning was pathetic and obviously not healthy. It is a small hope however, that white skin as a social value will overcome the general trend of miscegenation. But even a little help is good, right?
Posted by Whiteplight at 4:28 PM on April 23
Agreed. One blonde White girl from my younger days had skin that looked like an orange rind. Trashy was the word used over 10 years ago.
Posted by Jeremy Douglas at 4:43 PM on April 23
Great news for me. I am one of those lily white, blue eyed devils who would never tan, only burn. I have chosen to stay out of the sun, whenever possible, since my late teens when I realized I was simply ruining my skin. Sure some people think we look unhealthy, but I look at it this way: given the choice of risking skin cancer and looking like Bridgette Neilsen does now (Stallone’s ex)or remaining creamy white, I take my white skin anyday.
Posted by BEA at 4:50 PM on April 23
“Fair skin always has indicated aristocracy. Having a tan indicates one is a lower-class laborer. And this timeless standard has returned.”
Personally, I find the (oft-promoted) black belief that tanning “is a way the whites try to look like us” amusing.
But yes, I believe every civilisation in existance (in Europe/Asia anyway) valued “fair skin”, from the nobles of Europe to the nobles of Japan.
Posted by Obscuratus at 5:02 PM on April 23
Tanning is one sure way to ruin your skin for good. Even natural sun tanning is hazardous. My skin is pretty sun damaged and I have to be very careful about getting severely burned since I had some nasty sunburns in my teens. This does not make white girls or guys look better to cook themselves. I wonder if it is a form of white guilt.
Posted by Spartan24 at 5:02 PM on April 23
Nice to read this. The sun is especially bad for fair skinned people who can develop skin cancer as a result of overexposure. Stay white and stay healthy.
Posted by Cari at 5:05 PM on April 23
Ever notice how in ethnic cultures, the lighter and more Anglo the features, the more beautiful one is considered? Amongst Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, etc, the more “white” the features, the more attractive.
Vogue Magazine conducted a global survey and guess who was considered the most beautiful woman on Earth? Claudia Schiffer (google her for photos). Brad Pitt won for the men. Both having the epitome of Anglo features.
Posted by Mark Fulton at 5:18 PM on April 23
My wife wears a straw hat so she doesn’t tan.
Skin cancer isn’t much fun.
Posted by Michael C. Scott at 5:24 PM on April 23
Reason has surfaced… whiteness like truth needs no embellishments. Snow white was white in appearance and mentality in her alleged refinement and taste. After a generation of rythmic beastiality it appears some of the well bred may save themselves from immitating swarthy primitivism. You don’t cover a light, you let it shine!
Posted by Petrarch at 5:24 PM on April 23
I happen to like blondes with tans.
The real white trash girls have tatoos.
Posted by Nordic at 6:09 PM on April 23
This story is very telling.
If it doesn’t all come crashing down, I think we will eventually see a Hindu-style caste system in America, with whites (or very light skinned non-whites) on top and the rest at the bottom.
When I hear people talking about “hard-working” Mexicans doing jobs Americans won’t do, I get the strong suspicion that what they really mean is: These dirty little brown people do jobs that WE are TOO GOOD to do.
I call this mode of thinking “Textbook Brahmanism.” For obvious reasons.
Posted by Smash the Multi-Cultural Illusion! Hail a New Enlightenment! Abolish Human Domestication! at 6:14 PM on April 23
I’ll take a suntanned girl over one with a tattoo.
Posted by D.B. Cooper at 6:14 PM on April 23
I always liked white skin. I’m a caucasian. I don’t want to look like a hispanic. Same thing with thin lips. I don’t like big fat lips.
Posted by sandstorm at 6:33 PM on April 23
Normally, I detest the fashion world and its influence on the weak minded, but if the industry declares the octoroon look is out, I can live with that.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 7:08 PM on April 23
It has always puzzled me why any white person goes to the extremes to obtain “a tan”. I don’t necessarily subscribe to the “white trash” description, but women sporting no tan or a light tan at best, usually catch my eye, whereas a heavily tanned woman is a complete turn-off. Anyhow, it’s a pleasure to see they’re breaking away from their mental programming, especially in N.Z. where your skin actually burns due to the thinner ozone layer.
Posted by at 7:40 PM on April 23
Tanning will always be in for me. I’m as European as they come. I’ve never been to a tanning bed. I love feeling the sun on my body. It’s my relaxation and means of escape from the world.
Posted by at 7:49 PM on April 23
I actually like the way tanned skin looks, it reminds me of summer.
That said, prehaps there is another reason tanning is not popular anymore: Is it because Whites subconsciously want to distinguish themselves from the dark skinned Latinos now among them?
That’s what I think.
Posted by at 7:57 PM on April 23
As a teenager, I resisted the urging of friends to “get some color”(i.e.: bake in the sun like they did). Since I had very fair skin, sun exposure usually resulted in getting a bad burn.
While I’m not a big follower of fashion trends, it is nice to know that having ivory skin is being appreciated, once again.
Posted by Janelle at 7:58 PM on April 23
For centuries a perfect porcelain complexion on women was the ultimate sign of beauty, wealth, and breeding. During the 40’s when airplanes made it possible for the wealthy to travel quickly to exotic locations, and tans were suddenly all the rage, because they were now seen as a sign of leisure.
Today however, tans truly are tacky, whether fake and orange, or natural, along with the unnatural leathery appearance they give skin. It instantly give women a cheap and hard look, and often ages them.
Non-whites still value fair skin all over the world. In India fairness creams are used everywhere by women. The same is true in Africa, Asia, and in the
Middle East, and also among Pacific Islanders.
In Mexico, and in other parts of South and Central America, women still carry umbrellas when they are out in the sun, to keep their skin from darkening. And yet, some foolish white women deliberately fry their skin in the sun, when their fair skin is envied all over the world.
Posted by at 8:43 PM on April 23
Hmm. Very interesting. You’d think that the multiculturalists would be encouraging young White girls to try and look ‘darker’so that they could ‘get away’ from that ‘White look’. Although the article is from New Zealand. That could explain it. I’m sure here in the U.S. the media would encourage a tan for White girls. Got to get away from that ‘evil’ White look. And having a Black boyfriend wouldn’t hurt either - just to be politically correct, and of course if a White girl has a Black boyfriend it would only be ‘right’ to have some children by him just to help make up for slavery.
Posted by Awakened at 8:43 PM on April 23
When people are too tan it’s gross. But, there is such a thing as a “healthy” loking tan.
Posted by Howard in Las Vegas at 9:14 PM on April 23
I once had a sister in law who laid out in the sun….had a tan so deep she looked like she belonged in haiti…..she now looks like a withered up old hag….with allegator skin….isn’t it something what vanity can do to a person????
Posted by lydia at 10:19 PM on April 23
“Beauty expert, Dawn McGuire says, ‘Having white skin was always considered the upper-class tend. This changed briefly when tanning became popular in the 1990s. But no longer. Tanning is again the mark of white trash.’”
Sheesh - and they call us racists? She just about covered it all there in two sentences.
Posted by LHathaway at 10:28 PM on April 23
White people being ashamed of themselves in simply a sign of the reverse racism involved in the nagative aspects of multiculturalsim, and the shame taught to our children by our tax dollars. They want to be like us, but they dont want us to be ourselves?
Posted by Eric Friel at 10:33 PM on April 23
“Non-whites still value fair skin all over the world. In India fairness creams are used everywhere by women. The same is true in Africa, Asia, and in the Middle East, and also among Pacific Islanders… women still carry umbrellas when they are out in the sun, to keep their skin from darkening”
This is exactly true. All over the world. As you point out, however, this is really just an issue among women. ‘tanning’ or ‘lightening’ is never an issue for men outside of a select few in entertainment who must be able to change their look. It is truly a puzzling phenominon but one which men need not concern themselves.
Posted by at 10:47 PM on April 23
Setting aside the content of the article for a moment - can anyone imagine a news story repeatedly using the term “Black Trash” with impugnity?
Posted by HH at 10:57 PM on April 23
I know this one girl who goes tanning all the time. I swear she does it because she’s so white guilt ridden. “Ugh, I’m so WHITE!”
Posted by Mike at 11:31 PM on April 23
Tanning in the sun, as long as it isn’t carried to extremes can be good for your health.
Fair skin readily converts sunshine to Vitamin D. High vitamin D levels are negatively correlated with cancer. Ten or 15-minutes of noon sun at a lower latitude can produce many thousands IUs of Vitamin D. Of course, it makes sense to cover your face and head with a hat and sunscreen. For those of us who don’t develop much of a tan, we can still get benefit from the sun without destroying our skin as long as we limit our exposure.
Posted by Disgruntled at 12:56 AM on April 24
I see a lot of women and some men(mostly italians) with hideous orange skin. I assume that is from some kind of fake chemical process? It looks ridiculous. It was obvious a backlash was coming.
Posted by Joe at 1:06 AM on April 24
At a certain point in my life, I gave up the attempt to get a tan. I found a sunblock that allowed me to drink beer all day long on a Caribbean beach and go to bed without a touch of pink on my skin.
Posted by Stanley at 1:27 AM on April 24
If you go into a nice bookstore and examine the periodicals, you may notice what I’ve been observing for a few months: fair cover girls. I saw Gweneth Paltrow on the cover of a magazine, and she was practically reflecting light back into the camera! White is coming back and I think its great!
My mother on the other hand, is a constant shade of light brown. She’s a sun-worshiper, and even has a vanity licence plate that says “born to tan”!
Posted by Jacqui in AZ at 2:05 AM on April 24
I have seen similar articles over the past 20 years, but tanning is still pretty popular. Although it’s not healthy for the skin, I think that women generally look better with a tan than being pale. I don’t see tanning as an attempt to look like a different race. Also I agree with those who say that tattoos are more a sign of white trash. It’s a shame to see so many women covered with tattoos, it looks so ugly and will look even worse as these women age.
Posted by Jay at 2:46 AM on April 24
If you go to the original article, it says the author is from North Carolina, not New Zealand.
Posted by at 6:28 AM on April 24
The attractiveness of naturally tanned white skin has zero to do with blacks. It is attractive because it demonstrates vitality. The tanned are the ones who get out of the house, get things done & enjoy life. That’s why ultra-pale moon-tanned whites are looked at with suspicion, as unhealthy or even deviants. True in all white society.
Posted by Cousin Charlie from TN at 6:36 AM on April 24
Well keep in mind that many fair skinned women are sensitive about wearing shorts or skirts with white legs. In part the light skin tends to show off every flaw (tiny broken veins, little bruises, etc…) and that is an issue for most white women over the age of 22.
I do not tan, i just do not wear shorts in public even when its 100 degrees out, and I do not know any white women that will wear shorts with very white skin (unless they truly don’t care what they look like).
Posted by Sonya at 6:36 AM on April 24
Although getting too much sun is dangerous and results in long-term skin damage, I’m certainly not aware of any perceptions here in the US that tanning is “trashy.” On the contrary, even at major universities, I constantly see girls baking in the sun on the lawns, deliberately trying to darken their skins, and the beaches are as packed with sunbathers as ever. If tanning is for White trash, Americans haven’t heard about it. Maybe New Zealanders are more advanced than we are, at least in this area.
I do agree with those who say that it’s female tattoos that really spell “trash.”
Posted by at 7:20 AM on April 24
“Setting aside the content of the article for a moment - can anyone imagine a news story repeatedly using the term “Black Trash” with impugnity?
Posted by HH at 10:57 PM on April 23”
That may have been the whole point of the story: to get that term out there as acceptable public discourse, yet again.
Posted by Wild Eyed Charlie at 10:22 AM on April 24
Why is it most people today want to get to death looking their very best?
Opinions are just that, opinions. In order to make an educated decission about the sun, you might want to do further research. That dosen’t mean follow the crowd or listen to a few sound bytes from a doctor. Start reading.
Sunblock/sunscreen? Take a moment and Google that word followed by the word “toxic”. You might be shocked at what you read.
“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. If you like having white skin or like looking at white skin then by all means, knock yourself out. When you find that you’re having health issues that your doctor can’t expalin, you might want to consider lack of moderate sun exposure as a root cause.
Posted by clubby at 11:04 AM on April 24
Nothing wrong with tan or dark skin, if you want to get darker, every person has the right to do so, it`s personal preference, not good or bad, it totally depends on the person, having tan or darker skin doesn`t make you less ignorant or smarter. Yes, we all know that too much exposure to the sun is not healthy and can cause long -term problems(i.e. skin cancer)I have a natural deep tan and wouldn’t want to give it up for anyone, nor do I wish to be pasty white, I am just happy being me and that is the most important, some people relish white skin, other people relish dark skin, doesn`t matter, just depends what you like and what makes you feel comfortable. Too many people have complexes about this meaningless topic.
Posted by at 11:12 AM on April 24
“Fair skin always has indicated aristocracy. Having a tan indicates one is a lower-class laborer. And this timeless standard has returned.”
In all of Homer’s epics, the vast majority of Greek gods and goddesses had lily white skin, light eyes and red or blond hair, ie. Thetis’ “white shoulders” and “grey eyes”, etc.
“When I hear people talking about “hard-working” Mexicans doing jobs Americans won’t do, I get the strong suspicion that what they really mean is: These dirty little brown people do jobs that WE are TOO GOOD to do.”
These “dirty little brown people” are not doing anything WE have not done before. There were millions of poor whites, including children slaving away in unhealthy factories, in back-breaking farm labor, and in cottage industries.
Also, while the Mestisos and blacks were lounging around their huts in the warmth of the southern hemishere, whites were slaving away just trying to survive in the freezing cold northern hemispheres.
I am sick of guilt-ridden whites and anti-white racist browns insinuating that whites have had a free ride throughout history. The ancestors of the majority of whites worked their asses off for tens of thousands of years. That browns now have to join the human race and work (doing the hard work that lower-class whites traditionally had to do) and that this ‘work’ is considered beneath browns or considered “slave labor” is an insult to all the poor whites, especially the poor white children, who willingly did this typed of work in order to survive and provide for their families.
What was and still is called “slavery” was, and still is, called “labor” when applied to whites.
Posted by at 12:09 PM on April 24
It doesn’t take much exposure to get your Vitamin D dose. Tanning ruins white skin over time and can cause melanoma. I agree with the “”looks like a field hand” social apraisal, but I also agree with those who say that a “Tramp Stamp” takes the prize for “Most Trashiest.”
Posted by Whiteplight at 1:57 PM on April 24
“The tanned are the ones who get out of the house, get things done & enjoy life.”
I beg to differ, Cousin Charlie. I do all the above and I am very pale skinned. I burn easily and rarely tan, so I take care to protect my skin from the sun. I can enjoy the outdoors, especially the beach without darkening my beautiful, soft skin. There’s nothing unhealthy or deviant about having naturally pale skin.
Posted by WhiteGirl at 3:53 PM on April 24
A few years ago there was a study that found blacks had low levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is needed to ward off cancer. Dark pigmentation inhibits the absorption of vitamin D so blacks and brownies have to stay in the sun along time or take supplements to get their vitamin D. Also blacks have higher rates of cancer and their lack of vitamin D was sited as a possible factor. Many blacks avoid the sun because they don’t want to get darker.
A pale girl can wear shorts and look fine if her legs are toned and thin. But a pale girl may not look as good in a bikini as a polynesian girl but a polynesian girl can’t look as good in green velvet as a white girl can.
Posted by at 5:21 PM on April 24
I never want my pale white skin to get tanned. When I was growing up, ‘getting a tan’ was the biggest deal to a lot of whites. I never understood why they wanted to look dark. That and along with the health problems that can happen it makes no sense. I like to keep my skin white thankyou.
It is peculiar, though, that many whites want to get tanned and non-whites want to get white.
Posted by Ben D. at 6:03 PM on April 24
A light summer tan is one thing! Yes, it can be attractive, but that is because the golden glow that comes with it is unlike any other race. However, commited tanners who bake themselves to a darker shade of brown often look hideous, and I find it especially unflattering on women. It also ages the skin beyond belief. The serious tanners will find themselves look elderly in mid-life, with deep wrinkles and leathery skin.
Posted by at 6:38 PM on April 24
Auh…the tanning bed. My skin is porcelain White & burns very easy. I avoided the tanning beds for the longest time. I never minded my face being pale, it was just my legs when I wore shorts. So I decided to try the tanning bed. It took a long time to finally get tan, after burning & peeling. I never got very dark no matter how much I went. You couldn’t even tell I went to a tanning bed if you didn’t know me personally. Only my friends & family could tell I had a bit of color.
I finally decided it wasn’t worth it, too much time to deal with fryin’ in the crisper. Then I saw a few older ladies who I knew when I was younger. They were sun & tanning bed worshippers. Their skin was so wrinkled, they looked so old. It was sad to see these ladies like that. They used to be so pretty, but not now. What a bummer….
Posted by Dixie Land Doll at 6:43 PM on April 24
I’ve worked outdoors all my life and Have been tanned in the summer and wqindburnt in the winter and my wife likes it. Also, I’ve never had a problem with skin cancer about it either.
Tom Iron…
Posted by Tom Iron... at 6:56 PM on April 24
OVER-tanning has always been considered trashy, however a tan for a golden-brown complexion (beach blondes) looks more healthy than very fair skin. Very fair skin looks good on women when they’re young and the skin is fresh. But it ages quickly (25 years and older) and begins to get discolored with spots and shows veins etc. When women are young, the shade of skin depends upon personal taste and what suits the individual woman. One is no better than the other but generally speaking, a tan looks healthier and more vibrant than very pale.
Posted by Steve-o at 7:02 PM on April 24
Look at Joan Collins and Brigit Bardot: two attractive older ladies - one who was a sun worshipper, and one who has made a point of avoiding the sun. Compare pictures of the two now in their seventies. Brigit is an admirable woman, but she hasn`t aged very well!
Here in Britain, tanning and tattoos are definitely the marks of the lower classes!
Posted by Jeremy in U.K. at 11:22 PM on April 24
I could really care less if I am tanned or not. Being a caucasian with slightly darker than usual skin it is inevitable but really view it as an accomplishment where others might find it a sign of a “lower class”.
Those who look downward upon others whom put in the hours, endure the toil, and create employment for others are to me the essential Americans and those whom I find valuable.
Posted by at 12:49 AM on April 25
I see a lot of women and some men(mostly italians) with hideous orange skin. I assume that is from some kind of fake chemical process? It looks ridiculous. It was obvious a backlash was coming.
The orange stuff is called “fake bake.” It is a chemical process that interacts with your skin. You can spray it on or rub it on.
Posted by at 2:10 AM on April 25
“My skin is porcelain White & burns very easy. …I saw a few older ladies whom I knew when I was younger. They were sun & tanning bed worshippers. Their skin was so wrinkled, they looked so old. It was sad to see… They used to be so pretty, but not now. What a bummer….”
Posted by Dixie Land Doll
Bless you, Doll. You have not just good skin, but good sense. My mother, another sensible lady with porcelain skin, ALWAYS said said too much sun isn’t good for you — this was long ago, back when tanning was the fad. Regardless of the fashion, she sensibly avoided the sun. She is now going on 99, and is doing just fine. May you do the same.
Posted by at 4:29 AM on April 25
A natural, light golden tan from the summer sun is attractive. The burnt orange tanning bed look is hideous. There was a woman on the bus I used to ride to work that people called the ‘lobster lady’ who was a tanning bed addict. Tatoos are not attractive on women. It’s like spray painting on a classic work of art.
Posted by Civilized Neighbor at 2:12 PM on April 25
When I was a teenager in the 70’s, before all of the hoopla about skin cancer from too much sun, every girl I knew, including me was a sunworshipper and we used (considered now) the worse possible concoction to tan - Iodine and baby oil.
When I was 18, I spent 2 days at Ocean City, MD where I made the horrible mistake of of falling asleep in the sun for 4 hours. A day later, I was at the doctor’s office with sun poisoning all over my face and neck. Blisters the size of quarters. I look like a monster. My mouth was so sore, I couldn’t open it to eat anything for days. The doctor was furious at me and told me I would be lucky if I wasn’t scarred. Our next door neighbor told my Mom to make a baking soda paste and put it on my face every morning and night and as much as I protested, she made me do it. I didn’t leave the house for weeks - I looked absolutely horrible. Thankfully and luckily, I never had any scarring from that mistake.
But from that day on, I remembered what my parents told me - I was born white so why would I put myself through all of that torture.
I am 53 years old now and have been told that I look 40. I have no crowsfeet around my eyes or mouth. I attribute that to staying out of the sun. I don’t go to the beach and I don’t lay out on my lounge chair in my yard.
When all the news started coming out years later about skin cancer, I realized that although it was a very painful experience getting sun poisoning, it taught me a very valuable lesson and I am extremely happy for it today. My boss is a sunworshipper and has been treated at a dozen times for melonoma on her face.
I’ll never forget how really angry my parents and my doctor were at me.
Posted by Gayle Sollenberger at 10:12 AM on April 27
There is no such thing as a “healthy tan”. A tan is actually a radiation burn.
Posted by at 12:15 AM on April 28
I myself have extremely fair skin,that freckles up a lot in the sun.I personally should not knock myself out trying to get a tan.However,my oldest daughter has dark blond hair and a darker complexion than me ;if she is in the sun for more than an hour she comes in looking like malibu Barbie(ok i am a little jealous)
Posted by mama318 at 3:28 PM on May 6
Was I ever glad to get back home and read this article.
I have never been one to lay out and tan. As a child, with fair skin, auburn hair, and freckles, the sun was my worst enemy. I always burned in the summer time.
As I got older, I avoided it (didn’t want more freckles!), and over the years it has paid off in spades.
I identify with Gayle’s post above. I am 50 yrs. old, and people always think I am lying (“Fifty? You are NOT!”).
I have no crow’s feet, no deep laugh-lines.
I wasn’t motivated by the prospect of skin cancer or aging then; I just wanted to avoid freckles!!
Posted by kitty at 5:31 PM on May 6
