The Skin Stigma: When Did Being Pale Become Such A Bad Thing?
From the unpredictable snowstorms to the bone-chilling winds, winter weather can be less than pleasant, especially here in State College, and with the declining temperatures comes dry hands, chapped lips, and itchy red noses. Yet among all the beauty complications met during these winter months none seem to be as dreaded by the female population as the paling of their precious tans. Despite the fact that the fading of our skin tone is a perfectly natural process, many young girls (and some guys) of our day and age seem to view it as socially unacceptable.
Though attitudes regarding skin tone dramatically vary on a worldly basis, the belief that tan skin is a sign of true beauty can most certainly be pegged as an American ideal in our modern era. With bronzing lotions and self-tanners occupying their very own sections of beauty aisles across the country, it is no secret that achieving a golden complexion has become a natural step in the beauty regimes of many young women in today’s society.
Knowing someone who has been affected by skin cancer I will be the first to tell you how important sunscreen is or why a tanning bed isn’t worth the risk, but that is not my purpose in writing this article. What I’m interested in is trying to understand why pale skin has undergone a societal transformation from “porcelain” to “pasty”. From the ancient Egyptians to the days of Marilyn Monroe, pale skin was seen by many men and women as a symbol of beauty. It signified wealth as tan skin signified laborers and those who had to work long hours outside for a living.
With a history such as this why is it that those of us today with fairer complexions are ashamed of our natural color and only crave the return of our summer tans? It’s an unfortunate truth that young girls today are spending massive amounts of money while simultaneously putting themselves at risk of multiple health hazards simply to look a certain way – the way they feel will be admired by others. Don’t get me wrong – I’m just as guilty as the next girl of slathering on some Jergen’s Natural Glow every now and then, but as the orange circles begin to form around my wrists and ankles from my less than perfect applying techniques, I begin to ask myself if it’s really all worth it. So I’ll never achieve J. Lo’s Puerto Rican glow, but what’s so wrong with that? I’m perfectly fine with my pasty Polish skin because no matter how socially taboo it may be, it’s my skin. It is a symbol of who I am and where I come from and that’s something we should all learn to embrace. So whether you’re white, bronze, black or albino I say it’s time to embrace what you’ve been given, and stop trying to fit the mold that society has formed for us. Confidence is beauty. So hold your head high, rock what you’ve got and make no apologies. Besides, being one hundred percent natural is one beauty trend that will never go out of style.