Breaking news:
"Tan is the new pale. In pre-industrial Western society, paleness was a sign of status. Those who were wealthy enough could afford spending life indoors and under fancy hats and parasols, rather than laboring in the fields under the bright sun. Therefore, paleness was associated with an upper-class life of ease. However, the modern industrial period brought the advent of mass factory and mine labor, and by the 1920's tanned skin was now an indicator of wealth. In many areas of the world that are still pre-industrial, pale skin is still considered a sign of beauty." (From www.omg-facts.com)
I had a friend at work who was from England. She had a kind of off-center sense of humor, and called me "pale and interesting," meaning what was I doing in the house while everyone else was out getting a tan? Well, not wasting my time is what I was doing. Ive never been one to get tan. I just burn and peel, or get more freckles. I tried, believe me. Before the invention of SPF 100 I laid out in the sun during the summer to get a tan. With baby oil. I got some pretty bad sunburns, too, ouch. I did the tanning bed thing later on too, just approaching some shade of "normal." It was in nursing school when it dawned on me that with a family history of melanoma I really didnt have any business pursuing a tan. I was never going to be a Coppertone kid or a Bahama Mama.
So if you need me I'll be booking my plane ticket to the nearest pre-industrial country
That's music to my ears! Now if pale with beacoup freckles (and a short, squatty body) would come into style I could hit the runway! :)
ReplyDeleteThere are 2 "outs" I don't do. Lay and work. Both involve sweating and I'm not a nice person if I start dripping anything. Can't do the tanning bed thing because I'm not a huge fan of other people's sweat. I like pale. No tan lines. :)
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