Once upon a time, when I was eight years old I looked into my vanity mirror and saw the damage that sun exposure did to my skin. I was very tan. Milk chocolate tan. I felt so unattractive! I was so ashamed of how dark my skin was but I couldn't help it! At the time I was living in Manila, Philippines where everyone has a pool in their backyard. I went swimming often and my family liked to go to the beach on the weekends. I would never be able to escape the sun! Despite my efforts to apply sunscreen every hour I would always return to my room darker than I was when I left. I would never be pretty.
My ideal of beauty were the women on the SK II commercials. They all looked just like Snow White with fair skin and their beauty radiated through the television screen. I wanted fair skin so badly that I begged my parents for whitening products to make me prettier but they told me that I did not need whitening products because I was already pretty.
The Emperor clung to the spot and would not turn away
From the soil along the Mawei slope, under which was buried
That memory, that anguish. Where was her jade-white face?
(A Song of Unending Sorrow by Bai Juyi)
The poem ends in sorrow because the Emperor is unable to find this woman. Her legendary beauty is timeless. Women in the east continue to take great measures to keep their skin fair. In the summer they carry parasols and some women even wear long pants, long sleeved shirts and evening gloves to ensure an even skin tone.
My ideal of beauty has not changed since I was eight but I have come to terms with my skin tone but I still believe that fair skin is more beautiful. I envy my friends and relatives who are able to keep an light complexion and I continue to religiously apply sunscreen. I limit my exposure to the sun during the summer and I do own two UV umbrellas. I even own a bit of whitening lotion.
Americans don't seem to share these ideals with me. In fact, most don't take any measures to have fair skin. They prefer to tan. I know this because when I moved to the United States for high school I was shocked to see American tanning culture. No more SK II and no UV parasols! American supermarkets carry tanning products. Celebrities and models are tan.
Americans find many different ways to tan all year round: self tanning lotion, spray tanning booths, tanning beds and sunbathing. Why is tan considered to be beautiful? How do people make the choice to tan even with knowledge about skin cancer from tanning? I would like to better understand tanning culture.
