The Significance of Tan Skin...What is it?

[Darby Douglas]

Amongst the many things we will be doing this summer to celebrate the FANTASTIC weather, some of us will be doing something pretty weird. While a good portion of us are cooling off in the pool, some people will just lay there in a thin coat of sun screen, tanning. I admit, getting a nice summery glow is amongst one of the things I love about the three month break from school. Some people even skip the Laying-in-the-Sun part to hit the tanning beds. But why do so many girls love tanning and their brown (sometimes orange) glow?

In the Philippines things are very different when it comes to tanning. While girls in the U.S. LOVE their tan, girls in the Philippines will do anything to get rid of their brown complexion. This is true for many Eastern cultures. The reason these ladies would prefer porcelain skin to tan skin is because having brown skin means you are outside. If you are outside, you are working in fields. So that means, girls with light skin must be inside all day long. They have enough money so someone else can do work for them.  Pretty different than how it is over here, huh? While we bake in the sun wearing tank tops and shorts, these ladies cover their skin in attempts to shield themselves from the sun.

Last summer I visited Hawaii. A good portion of the population is Japanese and Filipino. While I was walking down the streets of Waikiki in a tank top, I would also see ladies decked out in long sleeve shirts, sun glasses, floppy hats, pants and shoes. Far from cold, these ladies are doing everything they can to NOT get tan. In the Philippines, women with the money will get their skin bleached. They will go to salons like American girls do, but unlike us, they will pay to get their skin a lighter shade.  

We know why women in eastern countries prefer light skin now. It represents wealth. But why do American women prefer tanner skin? Not to mention the health risks of too much Ultra Violet Rays, what is the American excuse for changing our natural complexion? It’s crazy that women on two sides of the planet will disagree on tanning versus bleaching this much. What are your thoughts? Why do American girls yearn for glowing skin? How can something we think is beautiful here in American be so revolting in eastern countries? What does tan skin signify in an American girl? Why do you tan?

[Lauren Andersen]

I think it's really interesting that people still strive for light skin, because it was like that in the 1800s in the U.S. I don't understand what changed things but it wasn't for the better. Life would be so much easier and safer if everyone could just be happy with light skin again.  Maybe the trend is to be different and since the U.S majority is light-skined, everyone wants to be tan instead.

[Patrick Norman]

i think its stupid for people to go to tanning salons. to me its a waste of money and it causes skin cancer. why would some one in their right mind pay to eventually have cancer. doesn't seem right to me

[Sarah Obrzut]

I always have pale skin, but i never have the urge to go fake tanning, id rather sit outside and get a tan that way, even if i end up burning instead.

[Kristina Lopez]

I do not have an opinion of tanning. I never do it, but I get tan anyways. I hate orange girls, there are way too many of them everywhere. My mom got a spray tan once, and she looked ridiculous, as do most girls. Does no one tell them how they look? I think all skin is beautiful, and no one should change it to impress someone else.

[Kaity Drahos]

This honestly drives me insane. The need to be so tan is so unnecessary. Yeah, I might be a little bitter because I know I'll never be tan. But let's be honest, being pale shouldn't be anything to embarrassed of. I hate hearing comments about my pale skin and I wish America would be more open to differences such as pale skin. I've been called paper in my life and people laugh and I actually don't think it's at all funny. It offensive and it hurts feelings. Life isn't all about being tan.

[Megan Teschner]

i definitely love to have tan skin, but i have never gone fake tanning. i think it is so stupid, its terrible for your skin. girls who fake tan dont even have a nice tan. there skin looks like a weird shade of brown and a lot of girls end up turning a different race.

[Josh Jyawook]

I think that if girls (or some boys) want to go tanning to feel better about themselves then that's all up to them. It's really no one else's business what a person wants to do with their own skin. When people go tanning, the risks of the UV rays are posted everywhere so they are pretty aware of what they are getting themselves into. Tans are hot.

[Meghan Byrne]

I really like tanning. I love being tan. I just feel so much healthier and I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin when I'm tan than when I'm pale during the winter. I have never been in a tanning bed and i never will go in one. They're a lot less healthy than actually laying out in the sun. The sun actually gives you vitamins that you need while a tanning bed does nothing except give you a fake tan and then in the long run, wrinkley skin and possibly skin cancer.

[Alanna Krivanek]

I'll admit that I feel the need to be tan, maybe because when its not summer I'm as white as a piece of paper, but many girls over do it. But i refuse to go fake tanning, even for prom like most girls. Yes i would have rather been tan, but it wasnt important enough to me to go fake tan.

 

[Patrick Witt]

I never really understood the purpose of tanning. To me, it seems like you could be doing so much more with your time rather than lying outside in a way that could harm you.  That's just my view of it, but obviously, people enjoy it, so they're doing what they want to do.