I recently started to run outdoor track this summer, and my track team is primarily white. They almost constantly talk about tanning or sun block. Why is this? It sometimes gets annoying because I know I don't tan and definitely don't need to use sun block. Answers from all races (especially blacks) are welcome.
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Name : Christine24268, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Hartford, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, Actually,...you do need sunblock. Anyone from any race can get sunburned. A sunburn is caused by too much exposure to the UV rays from sun. No matter who you are, your skin can receive too much UV,....but different people get sunburns at different rates. You probably are very tolerant of the sun,...but if I stuck you in the Sahara for a week, I bet you'd get a sunburn! As far as the track team talking about it alot....it is still popular for people to be 'tan'. This is perceived as looking healthy. So alot of people, usually girls, want a perfect tan.
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Name : Aysha21263, Gender : F, Age : 27, City : I.F., State : ID Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, Medium and dark-skinned blacks do not have to worry about sunburn because we have more melanocytes than people of any other race. The extra melanin was an adaptation that greatly assisted our African ancestors with daily outdoor life in the brutal sub-Saharan heat. The more melanin one has, the less likely he'll burn when exposed to the sun.
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Name : Sherry24272, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, City : Bakersfield, State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, Black people absolutely do need to use sun block! Thinking that black people don't tan is a dangerous misconception that could lead to sun damaged skin that makes us look older than our years or worse you could get SKIN CANCER!!! Some people think that because we have a high level of melanin in our skin that it doesn't need protection from the sun's ultra-violent rays! WRONG!! As far as your white team mates go, who can deny the beauty of a golden brown complexion? Exotic skintones the colour of pitch, and every hue in between? Using a sunblock allows one to tan 'safely'. Would you believe that at one time in American history, to be pale and white as alabastar was a sign of one's wealth? Those with suntans meant that they worked out in the sun doing physically labouring work. Nowadays the opposite is true; usually meaning that those with suntans can afford leisure time and playing outdoors. Be smart and get yourself some sun block!
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Name : Marie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 47, City : Sydney, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : 2 Years of College, Actually, Christine, anyone who plans to be exposed to the sun for any length of time should use a sunblock. Sunblocking products aren't about tanning...they're about protecting one's skin against the sun's harmful U.V. (ultraviolet) rays, which cause skin cancer. I make it a point to use it everytime I know I'm going to be exposed to the sun. Don't be fooled about the melanin thing...African Americans are no less vulnerable to skin cancer than whites, if they're sun worshippers. So join your caucasian teammates; get yourself a bottle of sunblock, and slather it on. The life (not to mention skin) you save may be your own. As for tanning, Black people do tan. I am a medium brown sista, and during the summer, I am noticeably darker -- to the point where I have to buy my foundation a shade darker.
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Name : Rhonda-P-Outlaw31160, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 43, City : Laurelton, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Rep, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Skin cancer is more common for white people than it is for black people or other races with darker skin tones. We (African Americans) have more melanin in our skin which helps to protect our skin from damage caused by the sun. This might be why some of your white track mates are so concerned about sun block and tanning, they probably don't mean any offense to you. And it isn't true that black people don't tan. I am a medium complection black woman and I notice every summer my skin gets a little bit darker and in the winter my 'tan' seems to wear off. This also happens to other black people I know as well. Also, many health professionals are now advising everyone regardless of skin color to start using sun block when they're outdoors for long periods of time to help protect their skin from damage caused by the sun.
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Name : Cinda, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 26, City : Gaithersburg, State : MD Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, I can tell you that, because the depletion of the ozone layer, skin cancer has risin 400% among blacks. The rays that cause it do not necessarily cause tanning or burning. But why your track team is so obsessed with it, I have no idea.
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Name : Biff, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 50, City : Bismarck, State : ND Country : United States, Occupation : physician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, It's not about getting a tan, it's about reducing sun damage to the skin, which can happen to anyone. Yes, the menalin (sp?) helps protect you a bit, the holes in the ozone layer let more harmful rays though now then ever.
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Name : Tasha31115, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 19, City : Toronto, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I have very pale skin and my ancestors are northern European, which makes me extremely prone to sunburn, so I do talk about sunblock sometimes with my coworkers and friends. I guess it's always kind of interesting to me to find out who burns and who doesn't--it's not always who you'd expect based on their skin tone. Tanning was definitely a big deal when I was in college and high school, and some people (only whites? don't know) think a tan is 'healthy', even though it's linked to an increased risk of skin cancer.
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Name : Lynn, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Your White teammates are constantly discussing tanning and sunblock because 1) they know they look better tanned than they do with pasty skin, and 2) they are much more vulnerable to sunburn, premarture aging due to exposure to sunlight, and skin cancer. Sunblock helps protect them from these rather bad things. Maybe you are naturlly dark enough that you don't tan, but you can get sunburn or skincancer. Perhaps its unlikely in Connecticut where you live, but be careful if you go to Hawaii or the Carribean. We do too burn. But it takes more exposure to UV to burn us.
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Name : Wayne-C31116, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 44, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, most likely due to the fact that white people get sunburns. DUH.
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Name : Casey, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Lubbock, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, You still need to use sun block. You can still get cancer or sun burned even if you have dark skin.
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Name : Linda30745, Gender : F, Age : 22, City : New York City, State : NY Country : United States, It's outdoor track. That means the sun is out. That means a white girl, especially a fair one, is going to burn. Unless she uses sun block. I don't know if you've ever had a sunburn, but it is exactly what it sounds like, and it hurts and makes you feel lousy. Then after the hurt stops the skin peels off for days. It's no fun at all! As far as tanning goes, there are two reasons. One, the more tan you are the less easily you burn, and two, it looks nice. White girls like to look darker. Light skin is not generally considered the most attractive in our culture.
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Name : Lauren21065, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, It's because of all the harmful rays the sun emits. And, Christine, just because you're African American doesn't mean you don't need to cover up, too. Because our skin has so much melanin (the pigment that makes our skin darker) in it, we especially need to lather up on sunblock. This is a myth in our community that Black people don't need to wear sunblock. If you believe that you'll end up like a lot of Black people with skin cancer. And who told you Black folks don't tan? I'm dark and every summer, despite using Coppertone, I end up with a tan line at my sock line and short line!
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Name : Whitney, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 25, City : Tunica, State : MS Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, Just because you have darker skin and don't burn, doesn't mean that your skin isn't going to be damaged by the sun. It's a good idea to wear at least an SPF 15 if you're to be outside for long periods of time. For a very long time, light skin was the epitome of beauty in European/white American cultures, but things changed in the 1920s and tanning became 'in.' In Asia, fair skin continues to be part of beauty as it has been for many centuries, and women there keep themselves out of the sun by wearing high SPFs, hats, gloves, etc.
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Name : Cynthia30561, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 25, City : Somewhere in Canada, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Communications, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
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