Tanning

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2003-03-03 12:13am

Am I the only one that doesn't like tanning?

Now don't get me wrong; I don't have anything against people with non-white skin. It just seems odd to see someone whose skin has changed color since I saw them last. Also doesn't help that half the people I see who are tanned are either tanned half-assed (i.e. tan lines) or are just plain disgusting (i.e. tanned WAY TOO LONG and their skin looks cooked).

I dunno, I see tanned people and I think "oh christ, they're going to be the people that have nasty wrinkly skin where they've tanned one too many times". I suppose another part of it is a lot of people I see that tan also wear gaudy makeup and look like whores.

Maybe it isn't so much the tanning itself as it is the aura of dumbassedness that seems to accompany it that bothers me.

What do you think?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-03-03 12:15am

Deliberately exposing yourself to large doses of cancer-causing radiation for the sake of appearance is not intelligent.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2003-03-03 12:16am

Darth Wong wrote:Deliberately exposing yourself to large doses of cancer-causing radiation for the sake of appearance is not intelligent.

One reason why dumb blondes always do it.

I could never understand why people would risk skin cancer just for having darker skin...

Perinquus · Post by **Perinquus** » 2003-03-03 12:38am

I think the custom of suntanning continues largly as a result of social inertia. It's a kind of status symbol. Before the industrial revolution, women cosidered it desireable to be pale, not tanned. You see, farm girls and other peasants, who had to be out doors all day in the sun, got suntans, and no lady of status ever wanted to be mistaken for one of them.

Then along came the industrial revolution and suddenly the commoners were cooped up in factories all day, out of the sun, while people of means had the leisure to take themselves off for seaside holidays. So now a pale skin was the mark of the working poor, while a tan indicated you were a person of some wealth and status.

Today, even poor people can afford to go to the beach or visit a tanning salon, but the idea of tanned skin being attractive has been a part of our society so long, it just hasn't gone away yet.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2003-03-03 12:40am

I enjoy lying out in the sun for the sake of lying out in the sun. It's relaxing.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-03-03 12:40am

I dislike bright light, my eyes are very sensitive, so I barely change color from season to season. I never go out of my way to tan.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-03-03 12:43am

I don't go out of my way to tan, though I don't use sunscreen when I should be most of the time.

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2003-03-03 12:47am

Alferd Packer wrote:I enjoy lying out in the sun for the sake of lying out in the sun. It's relaxing.

Bah, give me thick clouds and a nice breeze.

And, yes, going out of your way to expose yourself to damaging radiation is stupid. I wonder how long it will be before it becomes fashionable to bathe in hard X/Gamma or neutron radiation....

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-03-03 12:56am

Late February at Villanova is always an interesting time. We're in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and the month of February is always a gray, dreary, damp month. The last time it was warm enough to hang around outside long enough to get a tan was September, MAYBE October if it's an unusually warm autumn. And the student body is 87% white, a significant portion of whom are either New England WASPs or New York Irish, ethnic groups not known for their melanin content. So come February, everyone is pretty pale.

Then, suddenly, in the last week of February, right before Spring Break, an odd phenomonon occurs: young ladies in sweatshirts with Greek letters on them start turning orange. It starts out slowly, but usually by mid-terms week, there's a large group of students who've apparently had a WASPectomy or have gone on an all-pumpkin diet or have some rare skin disease. An artifical tan is the next worst thing to just wearing clown makeup to school. It's even funnier the week after spring break, when these orange ladies have turned a sick, overcooked meat color after a week in Daytona or Cancun.

Fuck that shit. I'm going to Rio in December, and I'll take my chances with my pasty ass on Copacabana beach under a layer of SPF 100 or whatever sunscreen. I'm not paying some schmuck to give me melanoma (I'm already paying the tobacco companies for lung cancer, and I'll be damned if I shell out money for TWO horrible, crippling, painful deadly diseases).

Sokar · Post by **Sokar** » 2003-03-03 01:29am

Tanning , just another mechanisim for natural selection to operate......

Personally, I stay pale as a fish, virtually year round. This is mostly due to the fact that my skin skips tanning altogether and goes straight to the burn phase. I'm not kidding, last sunner , on an incredibly nice 80 degree day, I got distracted , had my arm resting out the window, ran some errands and was out for about 20 - 25 mins , I managed to get first degree burn on my left arm from just 20 mins of afternoon sunshine(between 2-3 pm)

Needless to say, Im terrified of what would happen if I tried to tan in one of thes booths......

GrandMasterTerwynn · Post by **GrandMasterTerwynn** » 2003-03-03 01:35am

Uraniun235 wrote:Am I the only one that doesn't like tanning?

Now don't get me wrong; I don't have anything against people with non-white skin. It just seems odd to see someone whose skin has changed color since I saw them last. Also doesn't help that half the people I see who are tanned are either tanned half-assed (i.e. tan lines) or are just plain disgusting (i.e. tanned WAY TOO LONG and their skin looks cooked).

I dunno, I see tanned people and I think "oh christ, they're going to be the people that have nasty wrinkly skin where they've tanned one too many times". I suppose another part of it is a lot of people I see that tan also wear gaudy makeup and look like whores.

Maybe it isn't so much the tanning itself as it is the aura of dumbassedness that seems to accompany it that bothers me.

What do you think?

Tanning = bad.

Tanning = good way to get skin cancer.

Skin cancer = bad stuff.

Skin cancer = bad way to die.

Do the math.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2003-03-03 01:41am

I'm a night person and I go to great lengths to avoid the sun anyway. Needless to say I'm so pale this cave fish is jealous!

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-03-03 02:21am

I no longer seek a tan on purpose. I used to try and get tanned up until I was about 21. These days I dont like the bright sun anymore and wear a visor when outside. Ive worked a lot of outdoor jobs in my life so Im sure I will pay for it down the road.

Shaka[Zulu] · Post by **Shaka[Zulu]** » 2003-03-03 02:46am

even though I am of the darker persuasion myself, I have always been something of a vampire, even though I dont burn... quite literally, my exposure tolerance borders on 10-12 hours in a single continuous sitting. I dont even peel from such exposure, although I can when dehydrated or exposed to environments with very low humidity for long periods. The principal reason for my nightsider tendencies is my eyesight, as I have always had extremely good nightvision, and want to keep it that way (strangely, I have the best eyesight by far in my family afaik, but somewhat lackluster hearing & smell compared to my parents). Oddly enough, my work (photographer) is heavily dependent on the sun!

in any event, I think part of the reason tanning is so popular is that people dont like to be able to see their blood vessels thru their skin. That and possibly melanin envy.

imagine... the whole reason people tan is to look more like me!!!

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-03-03 03:26am

I work nights so I'm pretty pale. I'm also on medication that will make me burn quickly if I get too much sun so I have to watch it if I'm going to be out and about a lot during the day. Still, I don't slap on sunscreen whenever I go out like they suggest caucasians do in Arizona (very high UV pretty much year round). For the most part this just means my arms aren't too pasty looking, although, that could just be because of hair?

I definately use
sun screen if I am going to be working outside during the day.

I've noticed that tanning beds have gone out of style now that it's been said that they might actually be more harmful than a regular sun tan. The tanning places are still open though. The advertisements I see show them using some sort of liquid/mist shower to "tan" people. It looks better than that do it yourself orange junk from the store but I still don't see the point.

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-03-03 03:39am

I usually have a wicked tan on my arm due to America's Unofficial Pastime. I also have a whitish patch on my wrist, which is slowly darkening since my watch went kablooie.

The Great Unbearded One · Post by **The Great Unbearded One** » 2003-03-03 08:28am

Doesnt bother me, I'm typical British and dont tan!

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-03-03 08:36am

I can't tan. I burn.

I once got a sunburn on my arms and face that were so bad that I think I got second-degree burns, and my arms were covered with water-filled blisters. I missed about a week of school, and I still have scarring.

The Great Unbearded One · Post by **The Great Unbearded One** » 2003-03-03 08:36am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:I can't tan. I burn.

I once got a sunburn on my arms and face that were so bad that I think I got second-degree burns, and my arms were covered with water-filled blisters. I missed about a week of school, and I still have scarring.

Ouch dude...

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-03-03 10:22am

I just spent the last 3 days in or near a tent at the beach. I think it was awesome. I got a nice sunburn (I only exposed to the sun when there wasn't shadow available or I was going to take a swim) and my bones ache like crazy from sleeping on the sand. But I still love it.

Utsanomiko · Post by **Utsanomiko** » 2003-03-03 10:26am

Tanning is evil. Stick to the color you were born with; it stays much healthier that way (and softer, they way I like it on women. Yum.

)

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-03-03 10:58am

Dalton wrote:I usually have a wicked tan on my arm due to America's Unofficial Pastime.

How do you get a tan masturbating?

Post by **RogueIce** » 2003-03-03 11:40am

Dalton wrote:I also have a whitish patch on my wrist, which is slowly darkening since my watch went kablooie.

Can't say I have a tan, but I do have a strange watch-shaped patch of even whiter arm...

Frank Hipper wrote:
Dalton wrote:I usually have a wicked tan on my arm due to America's Unofficial Pastime.
How do you get a tan masturbating?

Now that's a very good question, and one I'd love to hear an answer for...

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-03-03 11:50am

I don't bother, I mean, on holiday I'll sit out and wear suncream and all, but I dislike the sun and I burn before I tan. My first sports day at primary school was when I got such bad exposure to my back and shoulders and neck that they peeled for weeks, icky.

Tanning salons are stupid too. Stand under a decent powered normal tanning UV light and you will die of cancer, eventually.

I never understood sunbeds, UV is a natural mutagen to the DNA of cells and the last thing you want to do is sit under a fucking high powered UV pump.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-03-03 11:52am

The only justification for tanning would be if you're going from a cloudy climate to a very hot and sunny one, and you're trying to avoid spending your vacation doing an impression of a boiled lobster. It's better, though, to just take a few minutes putting on sunscreen every morning.

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