Only Skin Deep
Complex Stigmas Behind Skin Complexion

By Rachel Kann

In America fashion trends have lead people to invest their paychecks in products and surgeries so they could posses whiter teeth, bigger boobs, and skinner waistlines. One of the most controversial fashion trends is the alternating of skin complexion. While skin complexion may be used to evaluate the person’s fashion sense; it has deeper roots in culture stigmas.

Like many trends and fads before it, the effects from alternating skin complexion have sometime been horrific when taken to the extreme. Roman and Greek cultures who desired lighter skin, applied lead chalks to their skin, sometimes resulting in lead poisoning. In other countries, people have used arsenic to acquire the desired pale complexion. Today, most Asian and Middle Eastern countries still value pale skin. However in Western cultures, possessing tan skin is a desire attribute that began in the 1920s as an unintentional fashion statement and persists today.

Previously in Western societies, being tan meant that the person worked manual labor jobs outside such as a farmer or construction worker thus came from a lower status in society’s eye. Therefore, women tried to maintain a skin tone that reflected that of the Elizabethan England style in which pale women would coat their skin with blue streaks so it would look more “translucent.” However this soon changed.

In the 1920s, French designer Coco Chanel came back from a cruise with a dark suntan. She announced that she had accidental stay out in the sun for too long, but her suntan soon became a fashion craze. Instead of a tan representing manual labor, it demonstrate the person status in society because these people had to be wealth if they had enough time and money to participate in outdoor leisure activities such as golfing, going on a cruise or to the beach.

Furthermore, the “Jazz Age” was going on during this time, which gave women fewer societal restrictions on how they should dress.  Thus lighter and more open clothing lead to suntans because these areas of skin received direct sunlight. However, tanning was limited to the summer month unless the person was wealth enough to travel to warmer locations in the winter.
In the 1980s, tanning beds became popular because of their convenience allowing most Americans the opportunity to tan thus making it less a status issue and more of an accepted societal norm.

Tans bed along with the use of tanning products has not been confine to just females. More recently, males want a suntan that can last all winter. UNI junior Alex Welsh started tanning four years ago before he went to Cancun. Since Welsh has tanned in random spurts. From August till April, Welsh tanned nine times. Even though, Welsh knows the risks involved and sometimes receives criticism from his friends about tanning, he likes the way it makes him look. “I don’t like to be way, way pale because it doesn’t look healthy while in fact it is healthier to stay pale [and not tan]” said Welsh.

However, when people over tan they can receive more criticism for appearing “orange.” Junior Joe Thornburg, who started tanning last summer, b

elieves that some have gone too far with tanning. “People who are too tan are worse than people who don’t if they look like umpa lumpas… like David Hasselhoff and Kenny Rogers,” he said.

The key to tanning is doing it in moderation. "Tanning is all about finding a happy medium, I don't want to be really pale, but lots of people tan too much and it looks horrible," said Welsh.

In the United States, pale-skinned people aren’t discriminated against, but some stigmas are linked with being pale. Thornburg said that people who are tan look like they are more outgoing and sociable. “[It looks like they] actually have a life,” he said. “[Not like] they are cooped up all day watching Seinfeld.”

In China, a lighter skin complexion translates into a higher social status. The beliefs are similar to the Western culture’s views on pale skin prior to the 1920s that tan people work farming which isn’t considered a good job in China. Chinese international graduate student, Lingling Cao said that Chinese society holds the stigma that “Smart people work in buildings and air conditioning…[and] are white.” Therefore, Chinese women try various methods to retain their light complexion. Chinese women use umbrellas to protect their skin from the sun and getting a tan.

In addition, Chinese women practice techniques to further lighten their complexion such as eating pearl powder, using powders and whitening creams. Cao’s natural ivory complexion allows her to refrain from such practice. However, it makes her friends jealous who do resorted to an assortment of treatment methods to acquire Cao complexion.   “[My friend] used white powder on the face but it didn’t look natural,” say Cao. “ [But] since she was ten years old she ate pearl powder [which works to lighten the skin].”

However, Cao says if you eat too much pearl powder you can get kidney stones.  While Chinese women formerly rely heavily on pearl powder, most have turned to the Japanese cosmetic industry to help them obtain the desire complexion. Other Chinese women have attempt more unorthodox practices such as drinking white milk. “Parents want their kids to drink white milk because they think when their kids grow up they will become white,” says Cao.

Similar to Asian cultures, light complexion is associated with a higher-class status in India. The social stigmas associated with dark skin are more extreme in India, being influenced by Indian culture, the advertisement industry, and Bollywood (India’s version of Hollywood).

According to Natasha Shevde historians believe that the early caste systems was established by the Caucasian Aryan tribe around 1500 BCE that laid the foundation for the social stigma. “In order to keep the local Dravidians suppressed and to establish a superior status, the Aryans differentiated people into various social strata or varnas [color]," said Shevde.  "The apex of the caster pyramid was assumed by the fair-skinned priestly Brahmins…the laborers fell to the bottom of the hierarchy and were comprised mainly of the darker-skinned manual workers."

These beliefs persevere today. Indian international student, Junior Nikhil Mani said, “When people look for guys or girls for marriages they look for lighter skinned persons because they look prettier.” Indian newspaper will describe woman as “fair” or “light skinned” in the single advertising section. The whitening cream, Fair and Lovely is a hot item in India. Its advertisements articulate the message the fairer the person is the more likely they are to get the job, get married, and be successful.

Recently, the company has extended their sales targeting to males.  “Its more so the females that have the tendency to desire being lighter but there are some males that use Fair and Lovely cream to try getting lighter,” said Mani.

However if someone is born and brought up in the United States, their view of tanning is largely influenced by American culture and society. Tanning since high school, junior Amanda Thompson’s naturally light tan skin reflects her parental Vietnamese genetics combined with artificial tanning. Her Vietnamese side of the family does not understand Thompson desire to be darker because they want to have a lighter complexion so they can blend in with American society.  In contrast, Thompson feels the pressure to tan like her peers so she can blend in, “I don’t like to be pasty white. I want to fit in.”

Although, Mani has lived in the United States for three years he still does not grasp the American “obsession” with tanning. “I don’t understand their desire to be darker. Even though it is a know fact that darker people are beautiful,” joked Mani.  “Maybe that is why. They think that being tan is the new sexy.”

On the other hand, when senior Keri Brecht spent last summer in Okinawa, Japan, she began to view tanning in a new light. She remembers the different views on complexion. At the beach, Japanese women would be wearing pants, long sleeves shirts and big floppy hats while Brecht and her friends were "sweating to death" in tank tops and shorts. However, Brecht said, “I think they see us [tan Caucasian] as beautiful but they have different ideals for themselves [to be lighter].”

In addition to the cultural aspect Brecht said that Japanese people are more concerned with getting skin cancer. When she heard that it changed her outlook and she discontinuing her use of tanning booths. “I took that to heart…wanting to be as responsible as I can about the future [when it comes to tanning]” said Brecht.

When it comes to Western cultures idealizing of sun-kissed skin and Asian and Middle Eastern cultures desire to be fairer, Brecht said,  “I just want to tell people to stop trying to be something your not.”
































Complex Stigmas Behind Complexions (Rough Draft)
 By Rachel Kann


Tanning since high school, junior Amanda Thompson whom naturally light tan skin reflects her parental Vietnamese genetics combined with artificial tanning. She still tans two to three times a month in the late fall to early spring. However, born in the United States, Thompson was continually influenced by American culture and society. Her Vietnamese side does not understand Thompson desire to be darker because they want to have a lighter complexion so they can blend in with Americans.  In contrast, Thompson feels the pressure to tan like her peers to blend in, “I don’t like to be pasty white. I want to fit in.”

In China, light skin complexion translates into higher social status. The general belief is that tan people work farming and farming is not considered a good job. Chinese international graduate student, Lingling Cao says Chinese culture holds the stigma that “Smart people work in buildings and air conditioning…[and] are white.” Therefore, Chinese women try various methods to retain their light complexion. Chinese women use umbrellas to protect their skin from the sun and trying to prevent it from getting a tan, making umbrella are a fashion statement coming in all different styles.



In addition, Chinese women practice technique to further lighten their complexion such as eating pearl powder, using powders and whitening creams. Cao’s natural ivory complexion allows her to refrain from such practice. Also it makes her friends jealous who do have resorted to an assortment of treatment methods to acquire Cao complexion.   “[My friend] used white powder on the face but it doesn’t look natural,” say Cao. “Since she [her friend] was ten years old she ate pearl powder” which works to lighten the skin. However, Cao says if you eat too much pearl powder you can get a kidney stone.  While Chinese women use to rely heavily on pearl powder, most have turn to the Japanese cosmetic industry to help them obtain the desire complexion (Miller 2006). Other Chinese have turned too less orthodox practice such as drinking white milk. “Parents want their kids to drink white milk because they think when their kids grow up they will become white,” says Cao.


Similar to Asian cultures, light complexion is associated  with a higher-class status in India. The social stigma on dark skin is more extreme in India, influenced by Indian culture, the advertisement industry, and Bollywood (India’s version of Hollywood). According to  Natasha Shevde historians believe that the early caste systems was established by the Caucasian Aryan tribe around 1500 BCE  who laid the foundation for the social stigma. “In order to keep the local Dravidians suppressed and to establish a superior status, the Aryans differentiated people into various social strata or varnas [color]," said Shevde.  "The apex of the caster pyramid was assumed by the fair-skinned priestly Brahmins…the laborers fell to the bottom of the hierarchy and were comprised mainly of the darker-skinned... workers."