China's changing skin colour

BBC ^ | Tuesday, February 13, 2007 | Quentin Sommerville

[nmh]

Thsi author is confused.

Dark tans are NOT the rage in China.

[Jorge]

But for a growing number of young Chinese people, dark skin now means having the money to afford foreign holidays or Western-style glamour.

Same trends in western culture.

Women used to wear huge bonnets to stay as white as possible, because it showed they were too high classed to work out in the fields.

Now tans show one is high classed enough to afford vacations in exotic places.

Goes to show. Sometimes lighter skin is in, sometimes darker skin is in..but being RICH is ALWAYS in style.

[highlander_UW]

Dark tans are NOT the rage in China.

That was my understanding as well. Dark tans = peasant, menial worker, from what I saw attitude wise.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Only guessing, but the skin bleaching/"whitening" craze among Asians probably is mainly caused by the influx of European standards of beauty, not because of some tradition for paleness (which does hold, but not as much). This would explain the hair lightening (traditionally, black hair was considered prettier), fat removal above the eyes (for "double" eyelids), and nose operations.

Just stick with the skin tone God gave you--this goes for pale people who tan themselves so much they get cancer, too.

[null and void]

The light ones want to be dark.
The dark ones want to be light.
The straight hairs want to be curly.
The curly hairs want to be straight.
Brunettes want to be blond.
Blonds want red hair.
Redheads want to be brunettes.
The ones with small chests want big ones.
The ones with biguns want reductions.

Has anyone ever met a woman who is happy with herself?

[rintense]

100% true.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

MC doesn't look all that tanned--or glowing, at least.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Great.....stanza thingy. It applies to a lot of people, all over the world. And apparently it's applying to more men now, also.

[nmh]

"That was my understanding as well. Dark tans = peasant, menial worker, from what I saw attitude wise."

Exactly.

This kook ought to check out a Chinese wedding or an opra. Maybe it's the only way this reporter can get attention? With something controversial?

[nmh]

"That was my understanding as well. Dark tans = peasant, menial worker, from what I saw attitude wise."

Exactly.

This kook ought to check out a Chinese wedding or an opera. Maybe it's the only way this reporter can get attention? With something controversial?

[statered]

Can we get some pics of tan chinese girls here? I need to judge for myself.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

"And foreign attitudes to tanning are also taking hold."

The article recognizes that the current holding trend is for paleness--but suggests that ideas about this could be changing.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

"This kook ought to check out a Chinese wedding or an opera."

You sure aren't one to mince words when you disagree, are you?

[the right side jedi]

Has anyone ever met a woman who is happy with herself?

I am :) although I do want to cover some of the gray hair I have (too much for a 24 year old). I definitely see your point. I don't understand why most women can't be happy with the colorings, hair texture, and boobs God gave them. It's all considered fashionable and beautiful these days anyway....

I'm slightly confused though. I thought the pale/tan trend had shifted back towards the pale with the vogue and super rich crowd because any yahoo with $20 can spray on a tan or for $20 a month bake themselves. You don't need exotic vacations to get a tan these days. It's much harder to keep your skin porcelin white.

[sphinx]

Our older daughter was adopted from southern China at 20 months. One of our best pictures of her shortly after arriving in the U.S. has white, white, white skin tone. I guess they didn't get outside much in the orphanage. Since then, she's lived outdoors as much as possible and, by the end of the summer, is about as brown as an acorn. Astonishing difference. People look at the earlier picture and can't believe it's the same kid.

Daughter #2, from northern China, doesn't seem to tan much at all.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

A lot of people in medium range of skin tone seem to have a lot variance in their skin shade during various seasons of the years and throughout their lives.

Those with the ability to produce a relatively small amount of melanin will probably continue to be pale skinned. If they get hit with light, their body can only produce as much as it can. If the light is too strong, then there could be sunburn on the horizon. And those with the ability to produce a relative abundance of melanin will probably continue to be dark skinned. As long as a little amount of light hits them, their body will make plenty of melanin. Potentially more than they need.

[null and void]

*shrug* I like gray hair on a woman. To me it speaks of maturity, experience, and comfort in one's own skin.

[rintense]

I have many friends who've adopted from China, and their daughters, once tan (and I mean tan), look more Central American than Chinese. And that tan holds too. They still have a lovely summer glow in the winter when everyone else is white.

[Cacique]

later