It’s summer, time to hit the beach or tanning salon for that perfect tan. Few things are more satisfying than your friends noticing how much time you spent on your tan and complimenting you on your luscious bronze glow. Why does something like our skin tone matter so much? Is it because a pale or an untanned skin triggers images of  nerds who spend their entire summer indoors playing video games?  

Dark skin vs Fair skin

In the American society,  we associate tans with sexy supermodels, athletes and movie icons. Having a great tan is often considered a symbol of good health.  A tanned skin is a way to identify our social hierarchy, kind of like the different insignias to differentiate between military ranks. Sporting a tan shows that you have the time and money to lay around all day in the sun instead of being stuck in the office all day trying to pay off the bills. However, in the Chinese culture, the exact opposite is true. Here, the fair skinned is the prized possession. Tans are associated with those who must labor all day under the hot sun.