Tanning

people have been conditioned to *think* that a tan looks healthy. Centuries ago, a tan was associated with being among the poor working class who spent time out in the fields and the wealthy prized their paleness. Then it switched to being a sign of "health" because the more wealthy people had the time and money to "play" more.

 

well, and it in healthy doses just plain IS good for you. it's a fact. physically, mentally and emotionally, we need those solar rays. just don't bake yourself into leather. that's just gross.

 

Fuck tanning, it's a waste of time.

 

I was just going to post something similar and you beat me to it. Folks have recently been conditioned to associate tans with wealth and leisure, and that it looks "healthy." (just like being chunky is considered healthy in some cultures while thin is considered healthy in others... we're all at the whim of what society tells us). So now people say things like "a tan makes me look healthier" without realizing they've basically been conditioned to think that very thing. Yes, being outdoors and getting some vitamin D is certainly good for you... but tanning is just plain dangerous.

I'm pale and very healthy. For me to artificially make myself look dark (whether by tanning or using chemical products) is just as unnatural as a dark person bleaching his or her skin to look light.

 

I would not go to a tanning bed, but I do love to be out in the sun and get a natural glow!

 

I disagree I think tanning beds are great for your mental health and vitamin D absorbtion. I tan at least every other day for 20 minutes and it is so relaxing for me I sometimes have a hard time driving back to work and finishing the day
I hate being pale because I look fatter and I bruise easily-just from everyday activities and I look like someone beat me if I'm pale.

 

As far as the outdoors thing. I have gotten so many bad sunburns from being outside-I have never had a horrible sunburn from a tanning bed-even the accelerated ones where you stand up.

 

about the not looking healthy thing~
I personally never intended to imply that I look healthier with a tan, but that I FEEL healthier and therefore look healthier. Being out in the sun in general, whether I'm laying in the sun, playing with my daughter, gardening, anything, just makes me feel good. The color in my face compliments my eyes and my skin isn't so purple. You can see every little hair follicle and blemish if I don't have some sun, which is pretty irritating to me personally.

 

i ought to tan a little during the summer, like kc said, due to seasonal affective disorder. hurrah sun deficiencies. but i wouldnt do so to get tanned, i like myself being all pale and weird

 

most guys I know are turned off by fake tanning

 

in other cultures, pale skin is a sign of social-economic standing. The poor people who have to work outside are dark, and the educated, richer people have indoor jobs. Its this way in the Philippines, the people with a stronger Spanish genetic background have lighter skin and are therefor perceived to be better off financially and socially. In Japan light skin is covetted, as in parts of China... India too.

Its mostly just Western and Westernized society that thinks darker skin is more beautiful.

I am so pale I glow in the dark. I have freckles and thats about it. I don't tan... I am physically unable to tan. I use a light tanning lotion on my arms, legs and face in the summer to loose that "blue" look... lol.

 

lol i have to say i`m very pale, but not blue

 

natural is the best

i personally love tans and think people look better with them...as long as it doesnt look orange or completely unatural. darker skin in general is hot..whether its light brown, a nice mocha color, olive, doesnt really matter. i love "exotic" looks

 

it's wonderful in the winter. a whole new world without winter blues dragging you down. as for summer, i'm out in the sun so much, i tan even with sunscreen. but my girls are out there with me, and neither of them have ever had a burn, and they're whiter than me. i'm am the QUEEN OF SUNSCREEN!!! but i still get a healthy glow. i'm not exactly Cracker McWhitey, though. i think i have a higher need for the ol' vitamin d than someone of northern european descent.

 

...yeah because guys really are that picky and fickle...oh man you're a cool chick but you tan...can't do it...can't be with you...I know in my heart your tan is fake...

yeah right...guys don't even know a fake tan when they see one unless it's extreme. And tanning beds aren't fake tanning...they give you a real tan, it's not like mystic tan

 

I love tanning beds to get me ready for the sun. I'm allergic to sunscreen, so I try to slowly tan before going out in the sun so I don't burn.

 

some guys do, some guys don't, I for one, can always spot it
and I said they were turned off by it, not that they will compltely condemn you for it. you can be as over dramatic as you want, but read the shit as I wrote it, don't bring the drama into my opinions
and some guys are more picky and fickle, but most guys just don't like it, but don't really care too much about it
but they still don't like it

 

I'm pale to the point that I can look quite unhealthy without a little color. For that, I go ride my bike outside (I wear SPF 30+ always), play fetch with the dog, and participate in a medieval-fantasy combat group outdoors every weeked. I don't lay out and I usually wear a hat. No need for fake tanners, or gods forbid a tanning bed. I'd be afraid my freckles would melt off.

I love men with a little tan, like they actually leave the house from time to time. Given that the majority of my friends are computer geeks like myself in some capacity, this can be hard to come by. Drake's naturally a little brown, and he's got the sweetest freckles. I adore them, much to his occasional embarassment. Fenikkusu's about my shade of pale, but since he's been back from MOS school he's picked up a little here and there. I think it makes you look more fit. Goth/emo/industrial guys that are super pale and either skinny or muscled are extremely attractive to me, but that's about the only way I like it.

 

I have very fair skin and I hate it[probably because I live in sunny FL] I dont know what state you live in but why not go out side and lay in the sun for a couple of days and get a nice even natural tan! Using fake tanning shit turns you orange and tanning beds are waste of money and health issue

 

I use gradual tanning lotion, one that also moisturize and tighten skin. They're nice because you don't get that fake orange stain on your skin in 3 hours. You get a nice even glow after about a week, and it doesn't flake off or look splotchy.
Plus, it's a healthy alternative to sun tanning, although I am guilty of being a sun goddess : )