[ThanhPhero]

I am always amazed when I am in Việt Nam. It is 96 degrees F and 100% humidity and all the non laboring women out of doors are covered up head to toe in cloth with wide brim hats pulled down and only their eyes barely visible, gloves up to theirbiceps. They are heliophobic. When my daughter was with me she heard many times from well meaning older ladies,"cover up or you'll turn black and never find a husband!" The Viets do seem to tan darker from whatever is their normal skin tone than Europeans do. In the old French era photos the people mostly look very dark. In modern times the Viets are a relatively light skinned people among SE Asians, at least the ones who cover up are.

[entropy12]

Note that rich people in times gone by did not work outdoors. Poor people mostly toiled in the fields and menial labor jobs outdoors. Dark skin is nature’s defense against harmful exposure to sun’s ultra violet rays. Therefore rich people in the same country tend to be lighter complexioned.

It is just amazing how much darker people in southern US are compared to people in northern states, belonging to the same race. In only 200 or so years, nature is already making it’s presence felt.

[Rembrandt]

"I am always amazed when I am in Việt Nam. It is 96 degrees F and 100% humidity and all the non laboring women out of doors are covered up head to toe in cloth with wide brim hats pulled down and only their eyes barely visible, gloves up to theirbiceps." Simply put, they are fearful of being mistaken for a person who used to live in the hinterlands. They fear the sun(tan). My VN girlfriend clued me in.

[expat1000]

In Thailand, and I pretty sure everywhere else in SE Asia, very dark skin is not only considered unattractive but “scary”.

I have to constantly remind the kids here, especially my 11 yo niece, not to fear people based on skin tone, and more importantly, not to trust them based on that, or overall pleasant appearance, either.

About the Vietnamese farm workers covered head to toe - that makes sense to me, same as in desert areas. A light covering is not only cooler, but necessary protection against sun burn and cancer - that’s why we wear hats in the strong sun!

[Safetgiver]

“cover up or you’ll turn black and never find a husband!”....Same in the PI. I had a girlfriend who was a HELL of a swimmer and could dive without SCUBA. We went to Blue Beach and I decided to go fishing and dive for lobsters. She showed up in a Burkha, for all intents and purposes. I said where is your bikini? She said she’d never get married if she got too dark.

[OpusatFR]

My Chinese relations go to very great lengths to use sunblock and coverings to keep their very beautiful (and very light) skin from tanning.

I, white as I am, have sun damage and a blotchy face from never bothering.