When Beauty is Only Skin Deep

"The following content was contributed by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed or implied herein may not be the opinions of Green Communities Consulting."      

By: Danielle Hyams

image from http://beaut.ie/blog/

Last week as I was teaching English in one of the Shan migrant camps, a student approached me.  “Teacher,” she said, her face wrinkling in dismay as she pointed at my arm.  “WHY?”  Her reaction wasn’t in response to some outlandish tattoo, rather my freshly tanned skin, a result of the previous weekend spent celebrating Songkran under the blazing sun.  Her confusion was over the fact that I was actively defying a beauty norm, and one that I was naturally blessed with at that.

The notion that light skin is beautiful spans across Asia.  In Thailand, a country that experiences more than 300 days of sunshine a year, people go to great lengths to avoid its effects.  In fact, it seems to dictate daily activities to some degree.  It’s not uncommon for people here to wear long sleeves and gloves on 100-degree days, especially when riding their motorbikes.  Hats and umbrellas are practically requirements.   Asian residents of my apartment building won’t go swimming until the sun is safely behind the mountains.  And finding a local skin product that doesn’t contain a whitening agent is challenging, if not impossible.  Before and after advertisements boasting their results are unavoidable.  Here, the desire for whiter skin borders on obsession.

Light skin is prized and sought after because it represents affluence and modernity.  Here, and throughout most of Asia, dark skin is associated with poor economic standing.  Low skilled and low paying jobs, such as farming and construction often require long, skin darkening hours spent toiling under the sun.

In a way I feel lucky.  It’s only takes me about five seconds to smear some SPF across my face, and throw on a pair of sunglasses.  It’s a lot easier to accept the sun than avoid it, especially in a place like Thailand.  But I’m also from a country where being tan is considered beautiful.  People worship the sun in America -- regardless of the obvious health problems it might cause.

But it’s important to remember that in America, there was a time before cancer causing tanning beds and expensive skin darkening lotions became the norm.  To be clear, a couple centuries ago, nobody chose to look like a Jersey Shore cast member.  Pale skin was a sign of wealth, while dark skin implied the opposite.  It was only when farming gave way to industry did sun-darkened skin begin to go from stigmatized to prized.  Present day, tan skin is indicative of something quite opposite.  Being able to spend long hours relaxing outdoors is a luxury – and one that requires time and money. 

Similar to America centuries ago, Thailand is a largely agricultural society.  Though in recent years there has been a major shift, as young people trade in farm tools for the latest technology and migrate to cities.  As Industrialization and Westernization continue to transform Thailand’s economy, it will be interesting to see beauty norms shift accordingly, or light skin continues to reign supreme.