why are coloured ppl generally afraid of getting tanned where as white/pale ppl are desperate to get tanned ?

Question

why are coloured ppl generally afraid of getting tanned where as white/pale ppl are desperate to get tanned usualy a dark shade? I know that I always coverup in the sun for two reasons, I can't stand the sun burning my skin and I don't particularly like to get tanned because I don't know! I suppose I don't like the colour I turn when I'm tanned. why again I don't know. I really shouldn't think anything of it.

Do I have mild ocd or somthing similar if I think like this?-lol

Answer 1

You have to research history to find this answer, and the first part is not pleasant.

Black people, during the days of slavery.......the lighter-skinned you were, the more apt you were to be working inside the house instead of in the fields. Being very dark meant that you were a laborer, spending all of your time outdoors.

Now, white people used to also avoid the sun like the plague. Why? Because, again, it showed that you were a 'common' person, and had to work outdoors. Then the opposite came into vogue; having a tan showed that you had time to do nothing but lay around, sunning yourself.

I hope this answers your question.

Answer 2

Pale people want a tan becayse nowadays a tan is a sign of attractiveness. (Whereas in the past a tan was a sign that you were the type of person who worked outdoors on the land, and therefore "lower class"). People who already have dark skin cover up because they know the dangers of skin cancer!

Answer 3

If you have OCD, I have OCD! I think SpookyKid hit it on the head w/ her answer, except that lighter skin was also a symbol of being of mixed heritage, which was more desirable to "massa." Darker skin was a symbol of less European blood. We carry these associations with us still.

I've heard of people (mainly East Indians though) saying things like "She'd be so pretty if she weren't so black."

White (or light) is right" is a sad belief that many people hold around the world. I guess I've fallen prey to it also.

Answer 4

Ok, now you can't stereotype, but, in some instances, we deliberately tan because we want to be darker, and they avoid tanning because they don't want to be darker. And we spend the big bucks perming our hair to make it curly and they do the same to make theirs straight.
So it's just a crazy world, where none of us are happy with what we've got and want what someone else has, huh? LOL! That's us women-folk for ya, I guess.
And thank you very much for asking this question, as I just reached Level 6, on your question! HipHipHooray!!!! :-)

Answer 5

Because the human race always wants what they can't have. Coloured people do tan, but it makes them darker still and they cannot tell if they are burning, so there is quite a hiigh risk to their sunbathing.

Don't knock yourself, it is good to ask questions. How else do we learn? OCD? NO just and enquiring mind, good for you, keep it up!

Answer 6

I dont think u do, is simple, was the point of tanning, when u are already coloured, white people tan to get coloured.

Answer 7

Assuming your generalizations trend to towards some level of accuracy, the answer is simple. Our purpose in life is to procreate and expand the gene pool, therefore somewhere in our subconscious we know that the correct skin tone to achieve our objective is somewhere in the middle, no too dark and not too pale.

Answer 8

I believe we choose to "get tan" because the sun is a natural healer and nothing is sexier than healthy glowing skin - this excludes fake 'n bakes.

Answer 9

Im not desperate to get a tan- i like being white, im not meant to be brown.

Answer 10

can you tell me why you refer to black ppl as colored. Last I knew that term went away with segregation. First off its not that we are affraid of getting tanned because black people don't tan they get darker.