What is the whole thing with getting tanned nowadays?

Question

You havent tanned yet ? OMG no wonder you are always soo pale. I bet thats why you are single , the neighbor dog barks at you , and getting c's at school because even teachers are doing it !

Tan , Tan , Tan ..whos there? me the tanning lotion ...

Lately , everybody is crazy about tans . having our natural skin color is something to be criticized for. I dont have anything against people who do it , but it is annoying when i get picked on for NOT doing it . I mean i have a freaking skin disease and i cant be exposed to the sunlight at all and yet these mindless consumerists insist i look to pale , EVEN IF THEY KNOW I GOT THE DISEASE ! even if i didnt have this disease i wouldn't tan anyways with all the damaging ultraviolet light ...how about you ? do you keep your natural and get criticized for not tanning ?

Answer 1

You must be 17 or younger.  Most adults could care less and even respect those who take care of their skin.  I recently got burned on vacation and feel like and idiot...I look like one too.  There is a quickly growing number of people and media focusing on the health and beauty of skin that does not look like leather.  Ignore the teenage banter (even if it is not coming from teenagers) and slather on your SPF 30...at least.

Answer 2

I'm as pale as anyone and I hate tanning. I hate sitting out in the sun and I hate fake orange tan from bottles. I don't care if you don't think I'm cool, I'm staying pale and interesting for good. Tan doesn't suit me and it never will. I prefer to make the most of what I've got.

Answer 3

What strikes me as odd is that for Caucasian women, the "ideal" is to be tan, while for many Asian and Indian women, the "ideal" is to be light-skinned.  I know an older Indian woman who often says things like, "Asha is very pretty, but Jaya is dark."  I think its sad that people can't be happier with the skin color God gave them.

I have never liked tanning.  I'm afraid of developing excessive wrinkles and skin cancer, so whenever I am going to be out in the sun for extended periods, I put on sunscreen.  Because I have some Greek and Mexican heritage, my skin never looks very pale.  I personally think creamy white skin is beautiful, though, so I would never criticize anyone for choosing not to tan.

A few years ago, I developed a skin condition (psoriasis) that often needs ultraviolet exposure in order to heal.  Because of that, I did start occasionally lying out in the sun in my backyard -- the psoriasis cleared up, so now I only tan when I notice my skin getting spotty again.  It's hard knowing that I am probably doing long-term damage to my skin in order to keep it healthy right now.

Answer 4

I embrace my pasty whiteness. I did get a little bit of a tan at an outdoor music festival I was at in June, though, and my legs look better with a little color. But I wouldn't go out of my way to get a tan.

I work with several women who go to tanning beds. They all look at least ten years older than they are. They're wrinkled up, and their skin just looks unhealthy. It doesn't have the natural glow that we un-tanned women have. You couldn't pay me enough to get into one of those death traps.

Answer 5

tanning is not new. been like  that forever, don't know why. but after 35 years I can safely say the world is full of dumbasses. who cares.  life is hard enough without trying to please every dumbass out there. don't worry about others, and what they say or do. others will always find something to nitpick at.  just be proud and happy with who you are and how you are. because in the end all that matters is you and  how you feel about yourself.

Answer 6

Good for you! I hate how people think because of my geographic location, I MUST be super tan. It isn't true. I live in a warm climate but I have naturally pale skin. I'd never tan though, because I feel like pale skin suits me. I'd look funny with really tan skin. People should just accept that not everyone wants to alter their skin colour!

Answer 7

I'm tanned permanently, I don't know what the problem is.

Answer 8

I put sunless tanner on my legs because they are pastey white, but I have only tanned once and it was just before my wedding. I agree with you. I have a very fair complection and it is kinda hard for me to tan. I have come to the point that I am always going to be fair so I should just live with it. People always say that I have a nice porceline color though and that I don't need to tan. I don't because of that.

Don't worry, while all the tan girls are cute now, when we are all 40 they'll look like leather handbags and we'll look like we're 30!

Answer 9

I have no idea what the obsession with tanning is about!!

  I guess it's on par with our societies obsession with thinness!

       I'm a fair skinned woman, even if I get several hours of sun, I'm always going to be fair. It's just my skin color (even though I'm about 40% Native American). I'm not a recluse, or gothic, or sick because I have a lighter color! I don't want to be prematurely aged, and want to avoid skin cancer.

                 It's ridiculous that strangers will openly comment on the color of my skin. It angers me to no avail.

                       I've heard it all. [Why are you so pale?, You look sick, Why don't you get some sun?, You'd look better with some color].  

Leave me alone, I didn't ask for your opinion!

Answer 10

Tanning is for hookers.

Answer 11

i dont tan either on purpose anyway... i do where sunblock...my face and  lower part of my arms do get a little tan, but my son plays baseball so i am always out in the sun, like i said i do use sunblock and i am one of the baseball moms that look for shade to sit....there are alot of other mothers on the team that like to sit in the sun to get tan... i like to be comfortable and i hate when my face gets tan anyway because all my freckles come out and i dont like the way it looks

Answer 12

The funny thing is . . . everybody gets older, and those who oil themselves up and lie in the sun are going to show it much, much sooner than those who don't.  So say nothing.  You WILL have the last laugh, and it will be a big one.

You can't overcome gravity, but a lifetime of staying out of the sun and using sunblock has paid off big time for me, and it will do the same for you.  

Tell your ignorant critics that the thought of roasting flesh makes you nauseous, or that you prefer staying healthy.

Answer 13

For the same reason girls from darker cultures use bleaching creams to try and 'whiten' themselves up.  No one is satisfied with what they are naturally.

Answer 14

My grandpa has lupus. If he gets out in the sun, he burns like crazy...it's awful!

I tan naturally, without even trying. So I get the opposite of your criticism: "You're SO dark! Stop going to those tanning beds, you'll get cancer! Don't you know it's unhealthy? You're killing yourself!" Well, excuse me for stepping outside! I literally can step outside for half an hour, and will be darker than I was when I stepped outside. Sunscreen doesn't stop it, either. I always make a big show of putting on my sunscreen, so that people won't criticize me. I'm sick and tired of wearing jeans in the summer to stay the same tone as everyone else.

Answer 15

I don't understand why anybody would want to tan anyway.  Ivory skin is prettier than any other shade.  I don't tan and never will.

Answer 16

White is beautiful just asked the black man he don't want know tan on them there white babes.

Answer 17

I dont tan either! *high fives*

Tell them that they're mindless consumerists and that you dont conform to idiots.

And yeah, I get teased for it, but I laugh at them.

Answer 18

The Mrs., it's not just teenagers who act like this, I am proudly pale and get all sorts of teasing from my friend, who is 40 and looks 50.  I, however, am 43 and look to be in my 30's.  Let them laugh, I'll be laughing at them when I visit them for chemotherapy.

Answer 19

You can go ahead and laugh at them in the subtle knowledge that all of those years bombarding their skin with ultraviolet rays will give them skin cancer, and an early death - while you continue to linger onward long after their deaths with your skin disease.

Rock on! <^__^>