So in Chinese culture light skin is associated with not working the fields? I figured in that case darker skin would indicate discipline and hard work, which I consider more appealing. But then I didn't grow up in a culture that placed much meaning on skin tone or race (beyond many in the tribe hating white people at least, but I'm half-white so fuck 'em), so I guess we should take this as just a lesson on how perceptions and attitudes are very different in other cultures?
There’s a weird effect in most European, Asian, and non-indigenous American cultures of having a bias towards lighter skin tones. I know that in many European cultures, after a certain point pale skin was considered beautiful for similar reasons - it indicated the person had the wealth to avoid laboring in sunlight (when coupled with other traits that indicated wealth instead of illness (double parenthetical: unless, of course, you’re talking about the era in which, I shit you not, dying of tuberculosis was fashionable. Because fashion is crazy, that’s why.))
Working in a field would be equated with being a commoner/low class since the whole culture was heavy on the whole royalty/nobles and the commoner/low class. The idea shows up in a lot of their stories and what have you (like cultivation stories for example)
Pretty sure a portion of Japan has the same inclination which is why those fancy dolls they've made for a long time have pure white skin.
About the tuberculosis, it made people weak and ethereous, which was linked to being "poetic", as opposed to the banality and "vulgarity" of living in the body more than the mind and having to be solid and healthy to work. Sipping light soup made for sick people and fainting a lot were seen as "too fragile for this world" and thus very hype. (the rejection of "worker's skintone" also appears in the term redneck)
As for the dolls, it's also true of Korean dolls such as Pullips/Taeyangs/Isuls, their tanned version received some negative feedbacks from European countries because they were just white, and their current darkest shade is caramel-coloured.
Sorry if it didn't bring super relevant info, I just happen to love the XIXth century and dolls.
anybody can become a white man with enough makeup. Anyone can also become a black man; that just gets more outrage usually. Don't believe me? RDJ, Tropic Thunder bout the only time it's worked in the past 30 years.
I'm half filipino, i'm fairly lightskinned now, due to staying out of the sun most of my childhood. The darker the skin is seen as people working outdoors, therefore earning a lower wage. But it's funny in the Philippines, girls there want white skin, by whitening products and creams, body washes, all saying to lighten the skin tone, then you have white girls, wanting the tanned complexion that filipino girls have. Seems very rare someone is happy with the skin they're in.
I think attractiveness comes from "expensiveness" and health. In western societies, being outside and (presumably) exercising demonstrates health and leisure time, so people want tanned skin. But where it's an indication of working menial labour, people want lighter skin
In re: people being unhappy with the skin they’re in: a complicating factor in that front is that they may just hate how people treat the skin they’re in.
Pretty sure a portion of Japan has the same inclination which is why those fancy dolls they've made for a long time have pure white skin.
As for the dolls, it's also true of Korean dolls such as Pullips/Taeyangs/Isuls, their tanned version received some negative feedbacks from European countries because they were just white, and their current darkest shade is caramel-coloured.
Sorry if it didn't bring super relevant info, I just happen to love the XIXth century and dolls.