Quote:
Originally Posted by RedefinedDiva
Hi Susan. You aren't crashing.
I think that the White people are able to discriminate against persons with naturally darker skin because despite tanning and all of their efforts to appear darker (temporarily), THEY ARE STILL WHITE at the end of the day. Even with a slightly sunkissed tone, they still do not lose the privileges that are afforded to them because of their race. They still have to option to NOT tan and remain just as pale as they want to be. While persons of darker skin tones never have that option.
Not sure if you get what I'm saying, but it's all a matter that goes to the discussion of White privilege. I'm sure we've discussed that a time or two here on GC.
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I do understand what you're saying, as far as even the deepest tanned white person still being white at the end of the day goes.
I still think its hypocritical to hear someone who puts a lot of effort into making him/herself darker make ignorant comments about people who naturally have darker skin. (Its offensive no matter what the shade of the person who said it - there's just an added layer of irony that goes with it when that person is obsessed with trying to be darker themself.) Perhaps the reasons you cited above are why they don't see the irony/hypocrisy of their own actions?
Hmmn, now that I think about it, this whole conversation makes me think of a story that was relayed to me recently. My grandmother passed away on Easter, and at her funeral last week people were sharing lots of stories. One of her sisters mentioned that they tried as hard as possible to cover themselves and avoid getting tan while working the fields. (My grandmother was raised on a farm and worked the fields, tended the animals, etc.) Apparently back then, being tan was a dead giveaway that you came from a poorer family. I wonder when the perception changed that being tan was a "bad" thing to being a highly desired thing?
(Sorry, I know that last paragraph is straying a little from the topic at hand - all the talk about tanning reminded me of that story, and of course my grandmother has been on my mind lately with her recent passing.)
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