[Erin A.]

I am generally as confused as you on the subject, but I think it has to do with ‘looking healthy.’ Someone who is tanned looks like they might be active, especially outside, doing things like running or swimming of playing tennis or volleyball or something. I personally don’t tan very much. I don’t like the idea of leathery skin later in life and tons of wrinkles all over my face simply because I wanted a suntan when I was 23 because it was the ‘in’ thing to do. However, I don’t think darkening one’s skin color means one is not satisfied with one’s own natural coloring. I think it’s just trendy, which is unfortunate because it wreaks havoc on your skin.

User Detail :  

Name : Erin A., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : retail clerk, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[catherine32432]

I think that white people often like to get suntans to ‘even out’ their skin tones. It also makes cellulite look less obvious when your skin is darker. There is also a short term positive effect on acne when you tan your skin, but it only lasts a week or two. In short, the answer is vanity!

User Detail :  

Name : catherine32432, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[David-R]

Sun induced skin coloring speaks of your social-economic class. Are you outside because you are poor and have no other choice but to work in the fields? In times and places when this is true of a great many, a tan is not popular. In modern times, most people work inside–away from the sun–those that can get outside must have more free time and be more in control of their time.

User Detail :  

Name : David-R, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : Palo Alto, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Craig31897]

I don’t believe people who are white are trying to become non-white. You suggest the irony of someone who dislikes non-whites, yet tries to darken their skin. But no racist says, ‘Know what I hate about Latinos? They are so darn caramel-colored!’ They see a Latino person and associate them with negative behaviors. With whites and their own skin color, it’s more of what is associated with a tan. It projects two things: health and wealth. It makes you appear that you spend a lot of time on the tennis court, swimming, playing baseball, etc., and that you have enough time to go out on your boat, go on vacations to warm places, etc. One hundred years ago, people did the opposite, because having tan skin meant that you made little money and worked in the fields. That’s the reasoning, albeit pretty stupid and dangerous.

User Detail :  

Name : Craig31897, Gender : M, Age : 38, City : Minneapolis, State : MN, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Peter]

I ask myself the same question all the time. I’m a motorcycle rider, surfer and soccer player, among other things, and spend a lot of time in the sun – and a lot of money on sun screen. Yet I have some inexplicable urge that if I get more tan, I will be more attractive, virile, sexy, etc. I feel social pressure to get tan. Any time I remove my shirt during a soccer game, I get the requisite comments (mostly from other white people) about the blinding white color of my chest. I’m afraid I can’t help you out on the origins of this social pressure. I can tell you that I find my girlfriend’s well-sunscreened, milky-white skin just as sexy as other skin tones from Asia, Africa and South America.

User Detail :  

Name : Peter, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic/Buddhist, Age : 30, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Corporate Instructor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jen30985]

Historically it was very fashionable for white people , especially women, to have alabaster, porcelain, or milky white skin. It was a sign of status that you could stay out of the sun all day rather than working in the fields. With the industrial revolution, that standard switched around. Now it is a status symbol if you have time to lay around and get tan, rather than sitting in an office or factory being pasty white. As a freckled, fair skinned woman prone to sunburns, I find the whole concept of tanning rather odd. I’m all about the sunscreen when I make it out of the office into the great outdoors.

User Detail :  

Name : Jen30985, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[James20886]

As a couple of people have mentioned already, tanned skin on a white person is currently the fashion. The sun-damaged skin is portrayed, ironically, as an image of health. Those who are tanned get plenty of outdoor exercise and fresh air. Maybe they can afford holidays abroad. Back in Elizabethan times it was quite the opposite, where a very pale complexion demonstrated that a person was rich enough not to have to work outside in the fields. Make-up was used to achieve the ultimate pale complexion, often made with powdered white chalk or white lead. The frequent use of lead and mercury in make-up caused scars and blemishes, and eventually it became the fashion for men and women to wear patches, cut into a variety of shapes and patterns. It would appear that risking health in the name of what is currently perceived as beauty is not a new thing.

User Detail :  

Name : James20886, City : MBoro, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, 

[Brennen]

Well this thought is not so young, in ancient Greece it was a sign of wealth if one was over weight, yet now it is considered bad and being thin is a sign of prosperity. Think about it you need time and money to work out. In ancient Egyptian times a person with fair skin was closer to the gods, but this would also make sense if considering that the rich were able to be catered to and didn’t have to be in the sun. So in these times that we live consider the fact that someone that as the time and money to be tan would seem prosperous to other and therefore they can look at themselves as better than others. Insecurities are mess up.

User Detail :  

Name : Brennen, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 32, City : Davis, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Susan]

For me the tanning issue has to do with sex and being naughty. You tan wearing a bathing suit and there is something very stimulating to your partner when he sees the light parts (tan lines) as something he shouldn’t see. Kind of when you were a kid peeking at Daddy’s dirty mags.

User Detail :  

Name : Susan, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 39, City : Winnsboro, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[anonymous23712]

I’m disturbed by the carefree attitude people still have towards tanning. Forget the fact that natural and confidence of being comfortable in the skin you have, is by far very attractive – tanning and skin cancer isn’t a small deal. It killed my mother.

User Detail :  

Name : anonymous23712, Gender : F, Age : 22, City : Washington DC, State : DC, Country : United States, 

[Manna Fisher]

WOW! I am so happy to see that someone else thinks the way I do. I am white and I do not tan. I’m not willing to die to have dark skin. God gave me what he gave me and I am proud of it. I love me for who and what I am and appreciate the fact that I am different from everyone else. There was a time when creamy, white skin was seen as beautiful, not that dark skin isn’t beautiful (heaven knows I’ve seen many beautiful black men. lol.) And by God, I’m going to keep my bright, white skin!

User Detail :  

Name : Manna Fisher, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Bedford, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Home maker, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Vittrad]

Well, I can honestly say I do not know any white person personally who feels that those of different skin colors are ‘inferior’ and am quite thankful for that (although I know those sorts are unfortunately out there). As far as tanning goes, there is a bit of social pressure to tan due to what is currently considered to be beautiful (subject to change at any given moment). I don’t tan very well, being of Scottish and Scandinavian descent, tanning is just not going to happen anytime soon 😉 (I get sunburned after about 20 minutes in the summer sun it seems) … I’ve accepted that long ago and just buy a vat of sunblock every spring.

User Detail :  

Name : Vittrad, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 32, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Adriana25157]

When people get sun tans, it does NOT mean that they do not want to be white. A tan doesn’t mean that you are trying to alter your race. Just because they want a tan, it doesn’t mean that they want to be black. I have always found this crazy, its not about wanting to change your race.

User Detail :  

Name : Adriana25157, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Hispanic (Mexican & Irish), Religion : Baptist, Age : 18, City : Jacksonville, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : cook, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[John L.]

I like to have a healthy looking tan because it makes my body look cleaner. The darker I am, the ‘cleaner’ I look.

User Detail :  

Name : John L., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Age : 32, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Sarah]

I think suntans look nice on people with an olive complexion. A Hispanic ex-boyfriend of mine tended to look unhealthy if he wasn’t at least a little tan. I, on the other hand, am pretty pale with blonde hair. I’ve had three blistering sunburns, and during the last one I was put on steroids to control the inflammation and Tylenol 3 just so I could lie down to sleep. I’m envious of people who can go to a picnic or an outdoor concert without slathering on the SPF 45. That said, I think sunbathing for the sake of tanning is stupid with all the information we have linking it to skin cancer and premature aging.

User Detail :  

Name : Sarah, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Southern Baptist, Age : 21, City : Burke, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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