by Cindy Chang
Is your skin the color of caramel or cream? Do you care a lot about looking tanned and healthy, or white and clean? Let’s forget the cliché that beauty is skin deep. In reality, regardless of our age or sex, humans love to judge people by their skin color. Two thousand years ago, Greek and Roman women used lead paint and chalk to lighten their skin. In Asia, women swallowed ground pearls to achieve the same effect. Right now, whitening products line beauty shelves, and advertisements bombard us with models having the finest skin tones. All for what? To look more attractive in the beholders’ eye and to live up to the beauty standards of society. Skin color carries subtle connotations of a person’s class and race. Remember the articles discussing about Obama’s ethnicity during the election campaign? Remember how the new settlers of America called the Indians savages? Even in Taiwan, we subconsciously consider urban people to be whiter, and rural people the opposite. Skin color seems to be the first indicator of one’s character, background, and social status. In most countries around the world, especially in Asia, white skin often implies cultural sophistication, education, and higher income. On the contrary, dark skin is related to labor, vulgarity, or even violence. Let’s zoom back to 15 years ago, when cover pictures of criminal O.J. Simpson were made darker so that he looked even more sinister. Besides, in certain areas such as India and Latin America, where class awareness is still very high, people who have lighter skin color usually have more advantages economically, socially, and politically. Luckily, modern society is beginning to embrace greater variety. Now when we see tanned skin, we think of beach vacations, out-door sports, and tanning salons. If taken with care, bronze shaded skin looks exotic, original, and energetic, too. In truth, being black does not signify anything bad. From a conventional perspective, men seem to prefer women who are whiter. The most desirable ladies back in Victorian England were those who were fragile, delicate, and pale. Men were expected to be macho and strong, so people forgave them for having dark skin since they had to slay dragons under all weather conditions. One theory claims that biologically, females are lighter skinned than males. This explains why babies and little children tend to be attracted to women with whiter skin color. Nonetheless, this is still a subject of great controversy. In short, we often associate white skin with femininity, innocence, and attractiveness. Did you ever realize that people usually say ‘‘She’s too dark’’ but never ‘‘She’s too white?’’ In Chinese, we even have the saying: 一白遮三醜 (‘‘One whiteness covers three flaws,’’ white covers all flaws). Such an inclination toward lighter skin color is also reflected in the media; for example, Disney princesses are never tanned, unless they belong to certain ethnicities, such as Pocahontas who’s Native American or Jasmine who’s Arabic. Of course, there are other reasons that affect our sense of beauty towards skin color. Different cultures and stages of history have different perceptions as to what beauty is. In recent centuries, Caucasians have been dominant on the international stage; thus many see them as the standard model of those who can rise to prosperity. Nonetheless, every region has its own unique religion, climate, and habits. Would men from the Middle East prefer white women instead of their own people? And would an African American baby choose to be held and fed by a Caucasian woman rather than its own mother? Most probably not. Furthermore, seasons may also change our preference toward the color of our skin; tanned skin often looks nice in summer and white skin with rosy cheeks better in winter. No matter what your skin color is, be happy about the way you are. It is not necessary to go to extremes. Since mercury is the best known whitening agent, over-application of bleaching products may cause serious damage to the nervous system and kidneys. In contrast, over-tanning may lead to skin cancer and accelerate the aging of the skin. Keep in mind that most standards of beauty and fashion are arbitrary. We all have different opinions about an ideal; that is, there is no right and wrong, only perspectives. Instead of being enslaved by the media and commercials, build up your inner beauty, too – confidence is what makes everyone radiant. a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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