SELF-HATING white people. You don't often hear about them, but they're out there. Forums like Reflections on Complexions tend to focus on the concerns of minorities, with the implicit understanding that white people are already taken care of. Yet clearly this is not true, particularly when it comes to psychological health.
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The phenomena of hair-straightening among black people and eye surgery among Asians often have been pointed to as signs that the dominant white culture has imposed its ideals of beauty on non-whites. No one, however, seems interested in white people engaging in behavior that risks their health for the sake of "looking better." Moreover, it is not merely hair texture or eye shape which they seek to change. It is the very thing making the racial label of "white" possible: their skin. We need to start reflecting on those moon-pale complexions which are being sun damaged in the pursuit of a "nice tan."
Such behavior becomes particularly popular at this time of year. Those who neglected to alter their skin color earlier may act with desperation now. They rush to salons, paying as much as $30 for the privilege of having harsh lamps turned on them for 15 minutes. They attempt to maximize the amount of time they spend in the sun, welcoming the dangerous UV rays. The entire spectacle looks insane.
The April 5 Cavalier Daily included two items about tanning. One, a column by Lytle Wurtzel, draws its humor from acknowledging the absurdity of going to a tanning salon ("Florida sun outshines promise of tanning bed glow"). Yet Wurtzel takes the hazards of tanning quite lightly, referring to the salon's refusal to accept checks as a "cash-for-cancer" policy and remarking that her body would "be bombarded with carcinogenic UV-rays." After her first attempt proved unsuccessful in darkening her skin, Wurtzel returned to the salon for a longer session, and apparently was dissuaded from more trips only by being painfully burned.
On the same page, the article "Days in the Sun" reported on students who are customers of local salons. Again, these people seem to care little about the risk of skin cancer. Kristen Vanhoose laughed, "I don't go that much so I think it's not that bad. It probably is." Like Wurtzel, those frequenting the salons expressed concern only about the risk of burning, not skin cancer.
Wurtzel wonders "why anyone would subject herself to such punishment all for the sake of bronze skin." The article gives an answer: Apparently many students find a tan more attractive than being pale. Sadly, these people choose to engage in unsafe activities because our society gives them the message that white is not beautiful.
This has not always been true. Many Western societies once considered pale skin to be a sign of refinement and wealth. All those bonnets, hats and parasols used by Southern belles were not just decoration. They were designed to keep the women magnolia-pale. As contemporary American society struggles to overcome prejudice against people of color, some white people actively seek to become non-white as well. We have turned from regarding dark skin as unattractive to looking at pasty skin with horror. A Frisbee player who removes his shirt while still winter-white will draw howls of, "Oh God! Too bright!" from people who would never remark on someone's being "too dark."
Recently, I overheard a conversation between a young woman and her male acquaintance that left me - hard as it is to believe - speechless. That morning, she and some female friends had risen at 5 a.m. to drive to Virginia Beach, leaving there at 2:30 p.m. to come back to Charlottesville. Between 9 a.m. and their departure, these women did nothing except expose their vulnerable skin to the cruelty of mid-day sunlight. I wanted to say, "Don't you know that the most dangerous UV rays hit between 11 and 2?" but my jaw seemed locked in the gaping position. She did have some idea that her foolhardy actions would have repercussions, as she complained of pain from the burning. "I was on my stomach the whole time," she reported.
This reminded me of a passage from Dave Barry Turns 40, in which Barry reminds older women of the days when they had rested in the sun, rolling around like hot dogs until well done. Now, the women have to stay in darkened rooms and refrain from humming "Here Comes the Sun," for fear that they might further damage their wrinkled skin.
Thinking of this poor sun-worshipper's future, I decided against chastising her. Nature would do so soon enough.
(Pallavi Guniganti's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at pguniganti@cavalierdaily.com.)
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