Skin Like Snow

One thing I particularly find intriguing about Chinese culture is their idealization of white skin.  Unlike here in America, where perfectly bronzed skin is coveted, in China white skin is most adored.  To me this is almost a baffling concept, because I grew up always thinking tan is the ideal of beauty.  I, being fair skinned by nature, have often tried in the past to achieve perfectly tanned skin.  I have tried laying out in the sun, going to tanning beds, and even allowing myself to become streaked with orange when I have tried sunless tanning sprays and lotions on various occasions.  To no avail, I have never been able to become very tan, or keep it for very long.  This is due mostly to the fact that I value the health of my skin even over my own vanity, and that is saying something!  Hmmm, or perhaps my own vanity is partly what has driven me to embrace my fair skin.  Truth be told, I have seen skin that has been heavily tanned over the years, and it ends up looking like old dried up leather!  Not to mention, sunspots are not the most attractive markings on a body!  Yuck!  

So, why the difference?  Why is tan skin ideal in the U.S, whereas pale skin is idyllic in China?  Is it because we covet what we don't have?  Or perhaps is it what skin represents that makes the difference?

Well, in the U.S. tan skin represents health and vitality.  Tan skin is heavily associated with athleticism in the U.S., depicting pictures of girls in skimpy bikinis playing volleyball, men running shirtless along the beach, and people being overall active in the sun.  Pale skin on the other hand often paints a very different image, one of inactivity and total avoidance of the sun. Terms  such as "gothic", "vampire", and "ghost" are frequently used to describe those with extremely pale skin.   But, the problem with this idealization of tan skin in the U.S. is that a large majority of people who are tan are not necessarily fit, athletic, or even active, many of them simply sit in a a box for several minutes a day, achieving that perfectly bronzed glow.  Now, what I can't argue about tan skin is that it does have the ability to make one look more toned, as well as hide stretch marks and cellulite, but at what cost?  

In China White skin is ideal because of what it has represented throughout China's history.  Pale skin is considered a representation of wealth and luxory, as it meant your family was wealthy enough that you needn't work out in the fields.  However, women whose families were less well off, were often forced to work out in the fields in order to survive, their labors being shown through their heavily pigmented skin.  Although today skin color is not very indicative of one's social standing in China, the idealization of pale skin still remains, especially for women.  Even today Chinese women often go to many lengths, such as wearing gloves while driving and walking with umbrellas in the sun, to keep their skin as white as possible.  

Pale vs Tan in the media

 It is very evident when watching Chinese media, especially music videos and films that pale skin is ideal.  Movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, House of the Flying Daggers, and Raise the Red Lantern all depict the most beautiful women as having skin like snow.   Now, while I have said that tan skin is the ideal of beauty in the U.S. I have began to wonder if this is completely true.  If one observes mainstream media, it screams out that we all should be tan, yet many of the U.S's most successful films totally contradict this ideology.  Actresses such as Kate Winslet, Scarlett Johanson, Liv Tyler, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, and Anne Hathaway have shown the true beauty of embracing one's fair skin.  If one truly pays attention to some of the biggest block busters in American history, Titanic, Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the Matrix, Harry Potter, and Spider man, they all have one thing in common, other than breaking the box office, leading ladies with pale skin!