Sunless tans are really popular and pretty, so why was dark skin seen as undesirable in the USA until now?

Question

And when I say undesirable, I am not saying that people did not recognize that there were beautiful dark skinned women in the USA, like Lena Horn, Dorothy Dandridge, Diane Caroll, Billy Holiday, and Josephine Baker. Let's face it they were all beautiful. But why was it taboo to put black women in magazines, commercials, etc. Everyone knows how beautiful color is. Tans make you look at least 15 pounds thinner, 10-15 years younger, and make the whites of your eyes brighter and clean teeth stand out.
And no double talk about economics, beauty is undeniable and is not class based.
I cannot figure out a possible explanation unless I think of jealousy syndrome the "Until I can have/get it I cannot ackowledge it as good or pretty..." If there are any takers, fill free to give a LOGICAL anwer.
THIS LOVE OF COLOR THING IS JUST LIKE GETTING COLLAGEN LIPS, at first full lips were undesirable, now they are popular. AND THICK, CURLY HAIR...

Answer 1

I agree.
Tans do equal wealth. Long vacations to the Carribean, etc.

However, some people no matter how many sunny vacations you take will not tan or even turn golden brown. I have known many people of varying ethnicities, and the majority of people from Euro descent don't tan. They get sunburns. And even if the richest man/ woman in the world was walking around with a sunburned face, it would NEVER become popular. Because sunburns peel and look gross.

Color is pretty on a rich person, a poor person, and middle class person. And that is a fact.
Color= a healthy glow. ANd a healthy glow wil never be a passing fad. As is thick hair= health and pouty lips= pretty.

I think that people will ignore something good if they cannot get it for themselves. It's TRUE.

And none of this TAN VS. RACE jargon. One group is noted for darker color and the other is not. If the group with lighter skin starts rubbing on skin darkening creams, etc. then that means that they covet the darker group's skin color. SIMPLE LOGIC.

Answer 2

There is "tan" and there is "race." Two entirely separate issues are at play here.

Beauty IS class based, or at least any time period's IDEAL is class based.

For white people, 150 years ago, it was preferable to be pale skinned because only the wealthy could stay indoors all day and not work outside and get a tan like your average farmer or homesteader. Now it is preferable to be tan, because the wealthy do not have to stay indoors working all day and can go on beach vacations!

As for non-white women, it is only in the past few years they have been considered standards of beauty on par with white women. Even now, many African-American movie stars have somewhat Caucasian facial features, i.e. Halle Berry and Beyonce Knowles. The women you mentioned WERE beautiful, but American society at the time (50's and 60's) was just beginning to end segregation, pay lip service towards equality, and recognize that beauty comes in all colors. Those magazines and commercials were directed at the Donna Reed type, who may have loved Lena Horne's music, but wouldn't identify with her as a fashion role model.

Hopefully, as America becomes more racially diverse, our definition of beauty will continue to expand as well.

Suzetta - it's not "jargon," and I don't know where you get that. We're talking about standards of beauty for Caucasians ONLY vs. standards of beauty for American women. Fortunately, this country's media no longer limits beauty to those of European descent. And give me a break, tanned white women don't "covet" anything from another race. They aren't trying to be something they aren't, just doing what they believe makes them the most attractive.

Answer 3

I think it's because there is a far more appreciation of dark skin beauty in the last 10 years or so.. It was a bit more taboo many years ago for light or fair skin types to admire darker skinned hues, but this has changed by more exposure to beauty in all colors. Certainly, the internet and quite possibly even some forms of erotic art has lead to change some people's minds about such things. Maybe it is a fad, as I've seen a lot of models with fair skin and red hair also being presented. Personally, I would like it to be considered a fad, as then racism itself will have finally be reduced to the triviality of a fad. But, I think it won't as now (as in clothes/eye color/hair color) we just have more choices. We're consumer and market driven. Beauty will always be in the eye of the beholder, we now have more to behold as beauty becomes a sort of archetype that appeals to everyone.

Answer 4

I think you look STUNNING the way you are!! You should rock the pale look! If you wanna get some color for summer then lay out in the sun or go to a tanning salon! Maybe try using bronzer and makeup at home to just see what your eyes would look like next to the darker tone. I think you look Perfect the way you are though

Answer 5

well. color is pretty. colonialism was the mechanism by which all the dark skinned people of the world became not good enough. yet there land and resources were good enough to exploit. however, things are turning around the more educated that the population becomes about oppression, etc.
most people in the world aren't pale, they are somewhere on the light brown, medium, and dark brown scale.
i like sunless tanners if they aren't orange. collagen lips if they aren't like inner tubes. i like natural thick lips like bridget bardot's, naomi campbell's, lya kebede, michelle pfieffer's, selma hayek's, iman's and beverly johnson, bai ling's.
but i love thick, curly hair and thick, straight hair.
And I think it is extremely ignorant to say good looking people or beautiful people have caucasian features.
not all caucasians are pretty. most europeans do not look like JUDE LAW and SOPHIA LOREN.
there are beautiful faces in every ethnic group: black, white, asian, and any group in between.
there are also ugly people in every group.
anything that is not symmetrical or does not come close to having the GOLDEN RATIO is unattractive.
but hey people can like whatever they want, just universally speaking every timeless beauty regardless of pigmentation, or ethnicity has the GOLDEN RATIO facial measurements, its good architecture basically.
the dark skinned east african beauty NEFERTITI, blond marilyn monroe, and venus de milo all have the golden ratio.
LESSON LEARNED beauty is timeless.
and good things like color SHOULD never go out of style.

Answer 6

There is nothing wrong with appreciating other ethnic groups' features. I like really straight Japanese hair and I flat iron my hair every morning to make it super straight, shiny and blond. it looks lovely.

I like lya kebede's skin color and i like naomi campbell's. all the fake tan cremes in the world won't make my skin that color, but i think it's gorgeous.

i have seen many black/ asian women with different non-traditional for their ethnic group hair colors: blonde and bright red.
if they think that blonde and orangey hair colors are pretty, is that a sin?
it's the same way that i love dark skin and voila, i rub on as much dark tanner as my pay check will buy.
dark skin was always pretty to me. it makes you look leaner and younger, and what is wrong with that?
every ethnic group has features that other ethnic groups "covet"? I'm quoting Suzetta cause she sounds pretty well read.
i think some people are old school bigots who want to be the only "pretty ones" but in reality there are over 6 billion people in the world. most are aren't pale, but who cares?
naturally, i'm the color of a peach crayon, that's very light but i don't look like a medieval ghostly person. so give me a break. i like tanner.
and yes racism/bigotry made skin color a bad thing, esp. if a message that "pale is better than the majority of the world's population's skin color'" is being preached.
I am secure in who I am, but I can appreciate other people's beauty as well. And it's not like I don't consider myself to be attractive.
but that is just me. i am very young but i have learned alot in my lifetime.
and i like healthy glows 2. and i have my own full lips, large gray eyes, and thick hair.
and i have read about the golden ratio, they used it to build the parthenon . all beautiful things like faces, flowers, and architecture have the 1.6 ratio.
so keep it knowledgeable peeps.

Answer 7

Love rich, deeply hued, colorful skin & sunless (and sun made) tans. Color makes everyone look good or better.

Answer 8

What was desireable was tans that denote wealth and leisure time, meaning vacations to tropical places. Simply being dark, which even poor people could be, was not considered a status symbol.

Answer 9

Why? Because they finally figured out they couldn't beat our beauty, so now they're trying to join it. BLACK BEAUTY RULES!

Answer 10

I agree! dark skin is IN!