What's wrong with being pale?

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

I've just noticed a lot of people seem concerned with looking pale; and this whole tanning sensation thing going on. Honestly, tanning makes a lot of people look orange, or like half a shade darker than what they are.

Then it increases the chance for skin cancer, has been related to skin cancer, and isn't a permanent remedy, so you have to keep spending money to do it at a shop, or time to do it outside.

I have an Asian friend who is pretty pale, and I think the skin tone is really beautiful.

It seems like such an odd thing for a lot of people to be worried about - like I can understand wanting big boobs, big hips, big muscles etc - because those things are related to things we are hard wired to be attracted to. Skin seems like such a small thing compared to everything else -

On the other hand, being dark skinned or having darker skin is something that is subtly viewed as being negative in society - so it would seem counter productive to darken yourself, not to mention the stereotypes that come with people who tan like your self absorbed, too concerned about your image, etc -

So I'm curious, what's wrong with being pale?

[MILWJ]

Pale is beautiful, just like any other skin tone. It's not right to go around telling other people to change their skin color.

I have really, really pale skin and my friends make fun of me all the time and tell me to tan. But I love my pale skin. The only negative is that in the winter I look like I should be in my deathbed. My skin is really translucent too so the blue veins show up under my skin sometimes D:. That doesn't look good but it's nothing a little foundation can't fix :).

And you're so much better off staying out of the sun anyway! I'm sure you've seen the older, middle aged women who walk around with the skin on their shoulders permanently damaged and the skin around their necks drooping down saggy. Plus all the spots they get on their arms and chest where they tan. Just ew. Tanning will age your skin so much faster. It may be fun and look nice now but when you're 40 you'll be regretting spending all that time under the sun destroying your skin.

A very beautiful person who makes a point of being pale - my idol personally - is Dita Von Teese. Look up pictures of her sometime :) And don't let anyone tell you to change the color of your skin, you were born beautiful and tanning just to fit in is not worth the risks!

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Beautiful / Inspriring answer :D

And I'm black lol not very pale :P but thanks ^^

[Scorpi]

I'm super pale, I pretty much glow in the dark. And I seriously don't believe it when guys say they don't care if a girl is super pale or tanned, they always prefer tanned. I've lost count of the amount of time guys have made fun of me because of how white I am. Which I find stupid, because if I walked up to a black person and told them they were to dark it wouldn't go down well lol so I don't see why people can say that to those who are pale. I guess it all comes down to being attracted to healthy looking people, paleness is a sign of illness a lot of the time, so it might have a subconscious thing to do with preferring the healthier looking mate.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Exactly - people pick on pale people like you guys have some horrible condition - like it's not that huge of a deal. And yea, that would make sense, but there are other signs for illness, not just paleness -

Those guys are idiots - I hate dudes who pick on girls like it's so bitchy of a guy to do that for any reason.

[kewkewsie]

I don't know but I am sure sick of people telling me I'm too pale, I look ill, and I need some sun on my legs if I want to wear shorts. I don't even realize there is a problem with being pale until I get comments and they build on each other.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Yea wtf right? My friend was talking about how pasty some chick at her school was - I was like who the f*** cares? Skin is skin, it serves it's purpose. I bet that trend only started because a celeb started doing that, and since the media has so much influence over society, it caught on.

People just can never be happy with the way we were created - pale or not.

[Anonymous]

Society and media know there is no money to be made in telling people they are beautiful as they are. Lighter skin people are always pushed with media images into thinking that in order to be beautiful they would need to get darker with a tan.

Dark skinned people are told they are too dark and need to lighten their skin

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

True, it all does boil down to the media brainwashing people to make some quick cash. It's sad that it works so well :(

[NonchalantBro]

Gym-Tan-Laundry!

gotta stay fresh to death!

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Lol - I bet your cuter when your pale :P

[NonchalantBro]

in the winter time when I'm all pale its not a good look for me..i just look sickly...plus I have red-ish cheeks and its just not a good look imo, a bit of a tan hides the redness a bit :p

[NonchalantBro]

dont get me wrong, on other people I have nothing against pale/ light skin...I like it actually :D

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

aww @ red cheeks :D

yea I hear ya -

[taster]

Nothing...in my eyes...mostly whites (or Lakota Sioux) around here and the whites get shriveled and wrinkled from spending months in tanning beds...a black, such as yourself, or a paleface would be fine with me...rather than a brown caucasian shriveled monkey...

[udolipixie]

what's wrong with being pale? Nothing unless you think there is

like I can understand wanting big boobs, big hips, big muscles etc because those things are related to things we are hard wired to be attracted to.

^ actually skin tone is also hard wired hence why the negative view of too light/too dark

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Yea, but what I mean is the skin tone doesn't seem extremely crucial - unless it's like you prefer white guys over black guys because of that, then okay - but when studies are done about what males and females find attractive in a partner, the obvious things pop up. Skin tone, not so much.

The negative view about light and dark skin is linked to racial hierarchy; for a long time lighter skin has always been revered as being the ideal tone -

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

actually, queen elizabeth got lead poisoning from her makeup which was used to give her an extremely fair complexion, because that image was iconic. Several ethnicites try to make their skin lighter by using powders and even bleaching themselves.

It's odd then that this phenomenon of tanning came about?

[udolipixie]

I'm well aware of the racial hierarchy because it's "supported" by hard wired preferences.

I was just telling you that skin tone preference is hard wired most men want fair skinned girls hence why lighter but not too light skin was the ideal

Studies about skin tone exist they're just hard to access because people claim racist.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

You can't claim racism in scientific studies - the facts are the facts. Sure everyone has their hard wiring for skin, but if you meet a white guy (if your into white guys, just an ex:) and his skin tone is slightly more pale, but he's got the personality looks etc you want - I doubt your going to toss him aside. Whereas, if a guy prefers a girl with big boobs, he's not gonna settle for a girl with small boobs - like skin tone is more subtle when it comes down to the other things

[udolipixie]

I know you can't claim racism with facts which is what sucks because it makes the studies that prove guys prefer lighter skin but not too light skin due to biological wiring hard to find.

but if you meet a white guy (if your into white guys, just an ex:) and his skin tone is slightly more pale, but he's got the personality looks etc you want - I doubt your going to toss him aside

^ I would because I don't date whites LMAO XD

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Well then that's to say everyone would desire to be with a pale / white person - which obviously isn't true. That hierarchy came to be because of majorly social circumstances. It's rare to find a dark skin girl, or brown skinned girl praised as much as a white woman in the media - so that standard remains as is. Had the roles per say been reversed, it probably would be darker skinned women holding onto the icon, thus being the more desirable skin tone if you will -

[udolipixie]

Skin tone is not subtle to most men as they prefer lighter skin due to biological wiring which was why racial hierarchy was able to sustain for so long.

Hence why any study stating men are hardwired to prefer lighter skin is called racist and promoting a racial hierarchy.

Apparently women are hardwired to prefer tan skin. lol

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

LOL - okay same scenario with a black guy? or Hispanic? Asian? whatever your fever be for :P

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

If that's true for most men - then why hasn't the darker skinned gene been bred out? It's like if you have a group of green, red and blue beetles, and most the red beetles choose the blue beetles - eventually the green beetles will be selected out. It would take a good while, but it's been centuries of this so I don't know - have any links to the study?

[udolipixie]

@QA

Doubt role reversal would have worked seeing as how studies about skin tone show the instinctual preference but that preference would eliminated if the darker girl was more attractive than the lighter one

So skin tone is a hardwired thing but not that ingrained

lol at fever but I wouldn't dismiss based on skin tone for me it's all about skin clarity

Can't stand guys with acne and marks

[udolipixie]

The darker skinned gene hasn't been bred out because like one study showed that while men are by instinct drawn to lighter skin that preference goes out if the darker girl is attractive.

It's quite funny because they are supposedly drawn because light to men = morally good.

Guess being so easily swayed by looks suggests men will trade a pretty face for a good character lol

Since there's attractive people of all shades the gene hasn't been breed out.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

So it ultimately boils down to the other factors like physical attractivness and such? Yea, that's what I figured.

Yea, I'm neutral about it like, I can stand a couple scars here and there, because my skin isn't perfect :P but like really bad acne or scarring, I agree with you on that.

[udolipixie]

I don't have that study few science journals websites will publish any controversial studies aka anything racially sensitive but here's some articles about various skin studies:

link

link

[udolipixie]

Try to look up Fair Women, Dark Men study by Pierre L. van den Berghe. I read it the morality based on skin tone in a sociology book

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Lol @ men and character -

Yea, they can't help a pretty face :P

[udolipixie]

@QA

It was funny because I was laughing when we read it in class and people got offended which lead to it being taken out because everyone felt it promoted racism and the believe that dark skinned people are evil and blacks deserved slavery o.O

It was quite odd because I was just laughing at the fact that men who dismiss what they perceived as good character for looks.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Yea I could see where that idea would come from; that was a common belief to that a lot of people used to justify slavery. The article said something about the morality being suggested because of society. If good and evil weren't related to light or dark, I wonder if things would be different? It doesn't claim racism - it just claims how f***ing stupid people are in how they reason about things.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

I think it's because it's more subconcious - like when a guy see's a hot black girl, he's not like, maaaan I bet that's one evil less than bitch. (at least I hope not lol,) more than not they're just like, oh she's hot :D

Plus, obviously morality isn't directly related to skin tone, so that subconcious thought probably counteracts the other one that may suggest that.

[maxxi]

well that's your color you should love it...

being pale is not an issue, but it depends how you accept the fact that you are pale...

chin up girl just be confident with what you have and everything will be OK :D

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Yea -

LOL I'm black ha ha - not much paleness here :P It's just something I noticed amongst my fair skinned buds, so I thought I'd ask about it ^^

But thanks your sweet :D

[RedThread78]

Hmmm I wish I had a natural tan... I think a lot of really light skinned people do. The sun wouldn't hate me as much then... :D

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Lol maybe - seems strange though like, the sun is more harsh I take it, but then to submit yourself to an abundance of UV rays to get a tan - sucks for your skin ya know?

Pale guys are just as cute as tan guys IMO

[RedThread78]

Well true I would never go tanning or anything haha. It's just... I think tan skin is more attractive. I think it's one of those cases of you always want what you can't have.

[PoizonousTouch]

Nothing wrong with it but it really depends on the person. Some people actually look better being pale skinned, others not so much.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Wow does it really make that much of a significant difference? I'd figure if your not too good looking pale, a little tan isn't going to do much -

[KikiKerasine]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being pale. I am about as white as an albino person and I Love being this pale. I don like what I look like tan and probably never will I am proud to be so pale.

[menina]

There's nothing wrong with being pale. The problem is that human beings are never satisfied with what they have.

[SuperCurious]

Idk, but I get made fun of for it all the time lol

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Those people are retarded - your really gorgeous by the way ^^

[SuperCurious]

lol my friends are mean at times ha ha they just play though, and ahh thank you XD you just made my night

[Ezmotts]

Only thing that's wrong here is looking orange.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

Ha ha - true.

You should never double as a citrus fruit - just sayin :P

[The_Supid_Genius]

I like pale girls, personally.

[CurryQb12]

It just makes you appear sickly.

[oOsweet~o~nessOo]

I dunno, I've never looked at a pale person and been like eew, they look so sick or ill - and I'm black so all I've seen are darker skinned people. I doubt many people automtically think omg that person looks sick because their a little lighter - I think that's more of an excuse the media puts on people, by telling them they look " healthier," if they kill their skin cells by tanning. Yea okay...