Just to clarify:
This thread was split from the ‘i hate fat people’ thread. My original posting was intended to illustrate the similarities between two obsessions - being slim, and being white - and followed a long incoherent rant about how a few extra pounds (like a bit of a tan) causes immense anguish for some people.
But since you’re all having so much fun, maybe I should just shut up for a while? Enjoy
What is very, very silly is it is not the visible light of the sun that tans you, burns you or gives you skin cancer. I’ve gotten burned on a cloudy day at the beach. So, why is it they only put up their “sunshields” when it is bright and sunny?
Boy, we’ve really gotten off topic. I love IT! 
The wonders of the human mind… and the screwy paths it will take. So maybe it should be the “wanders” of the human mind. Eh? 8-)[/quote]
Actually plexi glass won’t stop UV, glass will though… hence you could sit in a glass house all day and not get sun burned
Opague glass lets UV through
I remember being at the beach one time with a Taiwanese girl… who was obsessed with whiteness… she had the sun block lotion on… and when she felt like her skin was gettin hot . which sun block cannot stop… she lobbed on more to stop the sun from heatin her up
Actually my wife is dark… I asked her once about it… she said that some of here friends are obsessed with trying to be white… but they are not white. they are pale yellow that makesd them lok weak and sick… her atititude is that Taiwanese by the fact that they darken under the sun means that they are meant to be like this ( i.e dark)…
I on the other hand I tan like a tomato 
Supposedly though the whole thing with being white comes down to class staus… if you are white… you must be a laborer and be poor… of you are white you do not have to work outside and must be rich
Yeah, it’s kind of interesting really, especially now that people are aware of the fact that prolonged exposure to UV rays and sun are major causes of wrinkling and skin cancer, that some white people still enjoy baking in the sun.
I had a small thingy removed from my nose about six months ago. Luckily, it wasn’t malignant, but they did check it out. I also have freckles on my arms, but that IS hereditary. My mother doesn’t tan, she only freckles. I have my dad’s Scandanavian colouring and can get quite dark. I am more careful now, especially in places like Bali where I can sit in the shade and get very tan. But in Northern Europe,I don’t believe the UV is nearly as strong as in Asia, which may explain why I got that thing on my nose after having lived here for so long. Well, that, and I grew up right on the beach in the Carolinas and spent many formative years in Colombia South America which is on the equator…
I saw this Dutch couple in Bali, in their 60s to 70s I would guess, who were so browny-red that their skin looked like Native Americans. I don’t think they looked that great, especially at that age. They obviously thought so.
But younger people who are pale DO look better with some colour on their skin, IMO.
I find transluscent white skin rather yucky on men, but so-so on western women. When westerners have a bit of colour, they look healthier, I think. When they’re tooo dark, they look leathery. I think there’s a happy medium. But perhaps not a ‘healthy’ one!
i dont think with dark or white, there is one answer. lot of what asian women and others do in terms of habits regarding the sun is good common sense. for example, it is prudent to stay out of the sun or have some shade (umbrella) at certain times of the day when sunlight is strongest and most powerful and therefore most harmful.
on the other hand, staying out of the sunlight completely deprives one of the benefits eg vitamin D, mental health etc. Having a darker complexion ie more melanin also means more tolerance to the sun…
this is kinda my utilitarian take on it. as for the social beauty values associated with skin color, i would only hope that people don’t take it to extremes where it harms your health. If you’re very white to begin with, be careful about too much, too fast tanning or artificial tanning. If you want to be white, don’t use too many chemical whiteners and don’t be afraid of a little sunlight.
Well said, Kenny. Except we sorted out that it’s melanin, NOT melatonin! 
I might also add that swarthy or olive complexions on latins, indians, and other dark skinned races is very hot.
And, I find that westerners with blonde hair on their arms against very tan skin turns me RIGHT on!
[quote=“fredericka bimmel”]Well said, Kenny. Except we sorted out that it’s melanin, NOT melatonin!
I might also add that swarthy or olive complexions on latins, indians, and other dark skinned races is very hot.
And, I find that westerners with blonde hair on their arms against very tan skin turns me RIGHT on![/quote]
yah, it is melanin pigmentation. sometimes hearing the wrong word just makes it harder to forget. haha.
hmm. still thinking of your italian men? looks aside, they seem kinda…what’s the word…swarmy? slimy? without actually being it even.
Some would say ‘greaseballs’! But many are very dashing. Spaniards and Latin Americans, too.
I generally prefer to see Asian girls with a bit of a tan. Many of the girls here tan really beautifully, with a lovely, warm, golden glow, after only a couple of hours in the sun. They’re very lucky in this regard: if they stick to a few brief exposures, they’ll tan gorgeously without doing any significant damage to their skin.
However, some local girls look fabulous with very white skin, especially if they are slim – though if their skin is stretched out over too much fat, especially on the boobs, the veins and flaws stand out too much and spoil the effect of the whiteness.
Although most girls here prefer to keep their own skin white, they tend to like their men to have a bit of colour. Many Taiwanese girls have commented to me on how they find tanned guys much more manly and appealing (which is a good enough reason for me, at least, to get out in the sun and bake myself prematurely old, leathery and wrinkled).
As for the parasols, when I first arrived in Taiwan I thought they were rather silly and unnecessary, but now that I know only too well the burning power and dangerously high UV levels of the sunshine here, I can only applaud the good sense of the xiaojies who carry them.
Is there anyone posting on forumosa who can describe the physical features of a woman more eloquently than Omni? 
Did not the Buddha say that the Buddha can be identified by golden skin? 
Ah, well when you have had a girlfriend looking at your skin and saying “so white, so beautiful”, you tend to learn staying out of the sun - especially as I get sunburned very easily (White scandinavian skin). Last Sunday’s mountain drive with Rascal gave me a huge sunburn on the left arm, as I had it out of the car window all day. (Rascal got one on his right arm.)
I think veins showing through is a sign of fitness, no? My veins only started showing through after I started working out. My guess is that it’s because there are more muscle fibers packed in there so the veins get pushed out to the top since there’s no more room for them down below. It’s also a sign of low body fat I would say.
Veins definitely show more where you’re whiter, due to the contrast. My veins are clearly visible on my shoulders and biceps, which are usually covered, but less visible on my forearms, which are tanned.
I always thought veins showing through was rather ugly, but now I’ve learned to appreciate the little green buggers 
There is a good biological reason why humans prefer light skin. Dark skin hides many health flaws. It’s much easier to choose healthier breeding stock when looking at light-skinned people.
Love these just so evolutionary arguments.
If there have been black people in Africa (>100,000 years) for so long surely evolution will develop mechanisms amongst black people to judge the health of individuals in the population whatever shade of black colour they are. Same with Asians.
What’s wrong with white being best in Taiwan. Since I spent my whole life at home being ‘a whiter shade of pale’ and ‘and a redder shade of tomato’ and not much variation between the two states. Finally getting
appreciated by the ladies for it there’s no harm for some of us to catch our bit of the fashion curve.
is this your own opinion/reasoning or where did you get this from? It’s news to me.
dark and light skin both dont show most sunlight-damaging flaws (other than the obvious scar or burn). These are only visible under UV(?) or some spectrum of light. at least i read that somewhere.
Elementary biology my dear Kenny,
I’ve read quite a lot of books on evolutionary biology (especially those that are related to Neanderthals) and come across this a couple of times. Skin color is such an explosive subject most academics are afraid to touch it.
Basically, disease in humans usually causes skin color changes or skin markings. Hepatitis, for example, gives a yellow tint to the skin. This is much more detectable in someone who has paler skin. Think about wearing a white T-shirt as opposed to a brown one.
Of course there are many other factors to consider, but if you are looking at a pale naked blemish-free body then you are looking at good breeding stock. The darker skinned person could be just as healthy but it is harder to be sure of it.
The Almas is willing to give all the Forumosa girls a free skin check up.
Yes, having a tan can cover a multitude of blemishes…
What’s all the breeding talk, Almas? You getting a bit jealous of blueface?
[quote=“almas john”]Elementary biology my dear Kenny,
I’ve read quite a lot of books on evolutionary biology (especially those that are related to Neanderthals) and come across this a couple of times. Skin color is such an explosive subject most academics are afraid to touch it.
Basically, disease in humans usually causes skin color changes or skin markings. Hepatitis, for example, gives a yellow tint to the skin. This is much more detectable in someone who has paler skin. Think about wearing a white T-shirt as opposed to a brown one.
Of course there are many other factors to consider, but if you are looking at a pale naked blemish-free body then you are looking at good breeding stock. The darker skinned person could be just as healthy but it is harder to be sure of it.
The Almas is willing to give all the Forumosa girls a free skin check up.
[/quote]
As I stated evolution would quickly get around ‘hiding of liver problems’ by allowing black people to quickly detect the underlying shades or maybe eyes etc. To us in our foreign community we may not have learned how to judge but to a black person this may be quite easy!
I never a white white, yellow yellow or black black just a huge variation of spectrums.
I anticipated this liver disease example would be the one example you propose. Anyway Hepatitis is only one disease. There are probably many others which would initially seem to be more obvious by having black skin (maybe look paler easier etc, I’ve no idea really).
Now if you argued something like ‘most black people from East Africa’ are better runners’ or ‘mostly white people are good swimmers’ this would probably have some truth.
Headhoncho, I’ll be sending you a medal. I wanted to use a common disease that people know. It’s an obvious but good example.
As for your statement that you’ve never seen “white white” - you have obviously never seen Big Fluffy Matthew’s arse.
I have to go to work. I’ll write a proper reply on Sunday.
you mean so white so pasty…ewwwwww …
Wearing long sleeved shirts and pants in the summer time during 35 degree weather…to stay outta the sun…for health? NOT ! The price of beauty! My friends and I always stand out because we’re always the ones wearing the shorts and tank tops…
However, let me make an exception… I have to admit…those girls who work at the cosmetic counters at the Dept stores are hot!! They’re so white and pale with lipstick and eye makeup!