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Does society prefer light-skinned people?

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Ironically, many white people tend to prefer a (naturally) tanned skin as well as have a thing for the caramel-lish skin tones of many South Americans etc.
 
Yado said:
Race and skin tone are definitely a barrier to attraction.
Do you think black men are generally considered to be more desirable than men of other races?
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The two most popular interracial couples in the west are white male/asian female and black male/white female if that answers your question to any degree.
 
Yado said:
Race and skin tone are definitely a barrier to attraction.
Do you think black men are generally considered to be more desirable than men of other races?
Click to expand...

I'm saying skin tone doesn't really factor into attraction for women. It's just height, bone structure and build. (Charisma etc...are other more important factors but we are talking about pure physical attraction here).

Where black men tend to meet the above criteria.
 
JulianImp said:
I won't speak for other south american countries, but where I live (Argentina's capital city), society tends to look down on dark-skinned people. Then again, some people reject others over here "because they're black on the inside", which means they dress, talk or do stuff that we typically associate with bottom-class citizens.

I'd say that this problem comes from the very foundation of our society, as the words "white" and "black" themselves carry some heavy context within them (white = light, pureness, virginity, good; black = darkness, shadows, evil). That point about farmers being easily distinguishable from noblemen due to their tanned skin flew over me until I just read it here.
Click to expand...

This book was primarily about how colorblind racism functions in the United States and how it is justified rhetorically, but he also speculated on the sort of racial system we were moving towards. He thought we were moving towards: a triracial system that would consist of "whites" on top (e.g. "traditional" whites, totally assimilated white Latinos, lighter-skinned multiracials), then sub-groups like light-skinned Latinos, Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, etc., and then finally dark-skinned African-Americans, dark-skinned Latinos, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Laotians, etc. He described the system as being a pigmentocracy:

As a triracial system (or Latin- or Caribbean-like racial order), race conflict will be buffered by the intermediate group, much like class conflict is when the class structure includes a large middle class. Furthermore, color gradations, which have always been important matters of within-group differentiation, will become more salient factors of stratification. Lastly, Americans, like people in complex racial stratification orders, will begin making nationalist appeals ("We are all Americans"), decry their racial past, and claim they are "beyond race."

This new order, I argue, will be apparently more pluralistic and exhibit more racial fluidity than the order it is replacing. However, this new system will serve as a formidable fortress for white supremacy. Its "we are beyond race" lyrics and color-blind music will drown the voices of those fighting for racial equality ("Why continue talking about race and racism when we are all Americans?") and may even eclipse the space for talking about race altogether. Hence, in this emerging Latin America-like America, racial inequality will remain -- and may even increase -- yet there will be restricted space to fight it.​
 
Lovely Salsa said:
You know, these kind of things pisses me off.....
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China may not like the sun, but Japan embraces the sunshine.

tumblr_mp0n7aXwQk1s1ukqoo1_1280.jpg
 
Talking very generally: in places with a lot of agriculture being pale (relative to the local norm) is seen as more attractive, because it is also a sign of status (you don't work in the fields).

This was true for europe as well before this correlation lost meaning as people went to work inside. Nowadays it's fashionable to get a tan.
 
I like mix raced girls with dat curleh hair and green/hazel eyes.
Or as they are called in London "Piff Lighties." They're just soo damn fine and I don't know why. So yeah I guess.

alking very generally: in a lot places with a lot of agriculture being pale (relative to the local norm) is seen as more attractive
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Nope. There is a big difference between light and pale. Where I'm from anyway, girls hate being pale, it's why they tan.
 
Baki said:
I'm saying skin tone doesn't really factor into attraction for women. It's just height, bone structure and build. (Charisma etc...are other more important factors but we are talking about pure physical attraction here).

Where black men tend to meet the above criteria.
Click to expand...

I suppose we're going to have to agree to disagree. I live in a country where I can definitely see the difference in the way people are regarded based on the complexion of their skin and I definitely think this is one of the first things women take into consideration. (not all women of course)
 
Interesting from Wikipedia (with a typo lol):

It has been observed that adult human females are consistenly lighter in skin pigmentation than males in the same population. An explanation regarding this form of sexual dimorphism is related to the known fact that human females require high amounts of calcium during pregnancy and lactation. They are able to achieve this high amount of calcium by absorbing and synthesizing vitamin D in the skin, thus females must have lighter skin than males in the same environment. This is considered a form of natural selection because the offspring of females with a vitamin D and calcium deficiency could have had various birth defects such as spina bifida, which could then lead to deaths.
Click to expand...
 
Yes. In some of the asian countries people go under surgery and apply dangerous chemicals on their skin to get a lighter complexion. Darker skinned people are considered of lower caste in some of these countries.
 
KibblesBits said:
This is not about tanning.
Click to expand...

Yet it is about white-washing of Indian people?

How is this topic about artificially making a skintone lighter in countries where people have a darker complexion because it is a sign of 'wealth' but not about artificially making a skintone darker in countries where people have a lighter complexion because it is a sing of 'wealth'?
 
Baki said:
I'm saying skin tone doesn't really factor into attraction for women. It's just height, bone structure and build. (Charisma etc...are other more important factors but we are talking about pure physical attraction here).

Where black men tend to meet the above criteria.
Click to expand...

Just like with eye or hair colour a lot of people have skin tones they prefer over others.
 
ConfusingJazz said:
For those two specific photos in that specific background, yes. I mean, unless all photos of Gabourey Sidibe and Aishwarya Rai are that white.

And yes, I just looked at a bunch of pictures of Ms. Rai... for research...
Click to expand...

I believe Aishwarya Rai isn't as fair as she supposedly is. She has also gone through the skin bleaching routine over the past decade.
sm94j6X.jpg
 
Tence said:
Yet it is about white-washing of Indian people?

How is this topic about artificially making a skintone lighter in countries where people have a darker complexion because it is a sign of 'wealth' but not about artificially making a skintone darker in countries where people have a lighter complexion because it is a sing of 'wealth'?
Click to expand...

Tanning/Bleaching and natural complexion are two different things. One is what you are born with, the other is what you can do with what you have. The OP wasn't about tanning or bleaching and the stigma or notions associated with that, it was simply preference of natural skin tone or shade. It seems rather random to have people comparing the two when the stronger issue is natural skin color and how it is perceived and accepted amongst people.

While there is valuable discussion to be had about tanning and bleaching it appears that a great deal of people are conflating the two topics without understanding the distinction.
 
I was just talking about this with a colleague over lunch. He is from the Lebanon, and I'm from Mexico and we both have lighter skin complexions. We could both pass for Italians or other Europeans from the Mediterranean countries. We both know people who have darker skin that have to put up with a lot of shit, and are often mistreated. For example, my friend was telling me a story about how a sandwich artist at Subway got angry when he was with there with a black friend because he asked for extra meat. Because they were both together, the Subway employee also gave my friend shitty service. He told me other stories about the same friend being given sub-par treatment at many different places. People often assumed, he was just a jacked-up, gangster black guy. That guy had in fact a Electrical Engineering degree, was well traveled and well read.

In my experience people do treat you different, especially in the town where I live. People with darker skin are assumed to be uneducated, poor, and associated with crime.
 
KibblesBits said:
Tanning/Bleaching and natural complexion are two different things. One is what you are born with, the other is what you can do with what you have. The OP wasn't about tanning or bleaching and the stigma or notions associated with that, it was simply preference of natural skin tone or shade. It seems rather random to have people comparing the two when the stronger issue is natural skin color and how it is perceived and accepted amongst people.

While there is valuable discussion to be had about tanning and bleaching it appears that a great deal of people are conflating the two topics without understanding the distinction.
Click to expand...

Except the OP said this:

But the question eventually came up where someone posited that there may have been an element of white-washing going on or something like that. That society on a whole prefers lighter-skin people compared to darker skinned people in areas like India and China or whatever.
Click to expand...

I read white-washing...I read Chinese and Indian society preferring lighter-skinned people over darker-skinned. This in combination with all the whitener product + chinese facemasks tells me this topic is much more about that than racial issues.
 
Lasthope106 said:
I was just talking about this with a colleague over lunch. He is from the Lebanon, and I'm from Mexico and we both have lighter skin complexions. We could both pass for Italians or other Europeans from the Mediterranean countries. We both know people who have darker skin that have to put up with a lot of shit, and are often mistreated. For example, my friend was telling me a story about how a sandwich artist at Subway got angry when he was with there with a black friend because he asked for extra meat. Because they were both together, the Subway employee also gave my friend shitty service. He told me other stories about the same friend being given sub-par treatment at many different places. People often assumed, he was just a jacked-up, gangster black guy. That guy had in fact a Electrical Engineering degree, was well traveled and well read.

In my experience people do treat you different, especially in the town where I live. People with darker skin are assumed to be uneducated, poor, and associated with crime.
Click to expand...

How do you know the bad service was due to his race? I get bad service sometimes and good service sometimes as well.
 
luckyarcher said:
I believe Aishwarya Rai isn't as fair as she supposedly is. She has also gone through the skin bleaching routine over the past decade.
http://i.imgur.com/sm94j6X.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

Here are 115 photos since the Miss World Pageant 1994 to June of this year. Her skin tone fluctuates based on tanning and the amount of flash.

[url]http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/08/aishwarya-rai-photos_n_3561556.html#slide=2666225[/url]
Click to expand...
 
MisterNegative said:
I like mix raced girls with dat curleh hair and green/hazel eyes.
Or as they are called in London "Piff Lighties." They're just soo damn fine and I don't know why. So yeah I guess.



Nope. There is a big difference between light and pale. Where I'm from anyway, girls hate being pale, it's why they tan.
Click to expand...
I am from London and I have never heard of the term puff lighties.
 
Lovely Salsa said:
Just googled tall dark and handsome and went to the picture section...yea, that shit is NSFW
Click to expand...

Yeah, forgot about this. Still surprised its
all a bunch of white men. Not even tanned or anything tbh

Another situation personally is with my family. Dads side is dark skinned. All his brothers and himself married light skinned women. To the point it seemed like a mission to do so. And apparently one of my aunts was " Not light skinned enough" to my uncle and caused her to have a breakdown of some sort. [but shes pretty light so wtf and a horrible thing to say to your girlfriend at the time]
 
Tence said:
Except the OP said this:



I read white-washing...I read Chinese and Indian society preferring lighter-skinned people over darker-skinned. This in combination with all the whitener product + chinese facemasks tells me this topic is much more about that than racial issues.
Click to expand...

White-washing doesn't exactly mean using skin product. It can simply mean neglecting to include people of darker shades at all. Which is also quite prevalent in those societies and around the world.
 
The Abominable Snowman said:
Definitely NOT TRUE

Brazil especially. Dark or "black" people still aren't allowed in 'posh' nightclubs. Much like MOST of the world, the darker you are, the more you are seen as lower class. If you are 'hip black' (That is, the black who dresses or acts like the blacks do in popular media) then you may be ok, but generally anything seen as afrocentric is looked down upon.

http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2012/03/17/spike-lee-will-make-a-documentary-about-brazil/

http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2012/0...that-all-brazilians-are-blond-with-blue-eyes/

http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2012/02/19/nega-maluca-and-the-popularization-of-blackface-in-brazil-2/

Moreover, skin bleaching and lightening is VERY popular in many Latin countries, as well as Africa and Jamaica
Click to expand...

i wish this was off , but its dead on, all across the world people bitch up and try and be "fair" skin and seek that acceptance , makes me want to throw up almost...ALMOST as much as a person that doesnt know me telling me i dont act "black". At which point i wonder if im white wtf is my even far more educated, and cordial uncle is , and he grew up in segregated society, people stuck to their own groups. SMH
 
Mumei said:
This book was primarily about how colorblind racism functions in the United States and how it is justified rhetorically, but he also speculated on the sort of racial system we were moving towards. He thought we were moving towards: a triracial system that would consist of "whites" on top (e.g. "traditional" whites, totally assimilated white Latinos, lighter-skinned multiracials), then sub-groups like light-skinned Latinos, Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, etc., and then finally dark-skinned African-Americans, dark-skinned Latinos, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Laotians, etc. He described the system as being a pigmentocracy:

As a triracial system (or Latin- or Caribbean-like racial order), race conflict will be buffered by the intermediate group, much like class conflict is when the class structure includes a large middle class. Furthermore, color gradations, which have always been important matters of within-group differentiation, will become more salient factors of stratification. Lastly, Americans, like people in complex racial stratification orders, will begin making nationalist appeals ("We are all Americans"), decry their racial past, and claim they are "beyond race."

This new order, I argue, will be apparently more pluralistic and exhibit more racial fluidity than the order it is replacing. However, this new system will serve as a formidable fortress for white supremacy. Its "we are beyond race" lyrics and color-blind music will drown the voices of those fighting for racial equality ("Why continue talking about race and racism when we are all Americans?") and may even eclipse the space for talking about race altogether. Hence, in this emerging Latin America-like America, racial inequality will remain -- and may even increase -- yet there will be restricted space to fight it.​
Click to expand...

I'm extremely concerned about the future of blacks in the US.
 
Baki said:
I'm saying skin tone doesn't really factor into attraction for women. It's just height, bone structure and build. (Charisma etc...are other more important factors but we are talking about pure physical attraction here).

Where black men tend to meet the above criteria.
Click to expand...

Yeah... no. I can't count the amount of times I've heard 'I only date white guys' from women and this is in America. It is a factor for many women and was kind of discouraging when I was younger, don't give a fuck now (I'm Hispanic btw).

Yado said:
I suppose we're going to have to agree to disagree. I live in a country where I can definitely see the difference in the way people are regarded based on the complexion of their skin and I definitely think this is one of the first things women take into consideration. (not all women of course)
Click to expand...

Yup, what country are you from?
 
I'm shocked that this has to be asked... Of course this is the case. It's not just skin tone. "White" features are considered beautiful, it's considered what's acceptable.

It's a big reason black woman put terrible chemicals in their hair.
 
casabolg said:
"according to the United States Census Bureau, there were 354,000 White female/Black male and 196,000 Black female/White male marriages in March 2009, representing a ratio of 181:100"
Stats here http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0060.pdf
Click to expand...

You would think it was the opposite though based on movies and such.

There may be more wf/bm relationships, but they are by and large the most feared and condemned couplings.
 
Baki said:
I'm saying skin tone doesn't really factor into attraction for women. It's just height, bone structure and build. (Charisma etc...are other more important factors but we are talking about pure physical attraction here).

Where black men tend to meet the above criteria.
Click to expand...
Yeah. As one, I call bullshit. Speaking from experience (white women and non black women) can be just is up front and blunt about not dating black men. And even if they are willing to even consider you, the prospect of telling their friends & families that they are dating a black guy usually keeps them from doing it.
 
Beysus said:
Beyoncé does NOT bleach her flawless skin. She sometimes looks darker because of a tan. Like most people usually do. Her natural skintone is pretty pale.

Look at her parents..
jEnlDc68hWOXz_e.jpg

jT9Av7GmKQZ6y.jpg


Bey just looks more like her mother. Who's also light-skinned
j6z7RbrdUPSH0.jpg


So let's not
Click to expand...

her hair can't be real though, as in naturally straight like that. especially considering how curly her mom's and dad''s hair are.
 
casabolg said:
Source?
Click to expand...

I don't have a study on hand. It's pretty obvious when you look at media representations, overall historical context, etc. Not sure if worth going down this road but....look at porn.

pFgWz6o.jpg


When was the last time you saw the opposite in a major film?

Outside of Luther, I can't think of anything at this very moment (And that's British, and I was mostly speaking from an American perspective although I should have clarified).
 
KibblesBits said:
White-washing doesn't exactly mean using skin product. It can simply mean neglecting to include people of darker shades at all. Which is also quite prevalent in those societies and around the world.
Click to expand...

Which still does not make it a racial thing. We are talking about China and India here, where the 'pale = beautiful' thing has been around long before any western influence.
So it appeared to me that OP wanted to discuss skintones within a society, not per se focused on race, so yes, this also should be about tanning.

Unless we want this a discussion about which race is considered to be most desirable, which is fine by me, but which I think wasn't the intention of the OP
 
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