If Caucasian engineers at an American company created fried chicken, sumo wrestler and sushi filters for specific ethnic target markets they'd be accused of ethnic stereotypes and racism.
The first time I heard 一白遮三丑 was an eye-opening experience. I knew the stereotype but not how far it actually went.
Fast forward to the industrial age: now poor women worked all day long in a factory, barely getting sunlight, while rich girls would visit beaches and sky resorts, tanning themselves. Suddenly, being slightly tanned is now considered "healthy" and, to some degree, "more beautiful".
That said, most people still seem to like relatively whiter skin, just not 0xffffff.
> Fast forward to the industrial age: now poor women worked all day long in a factory, barely getting sunlight, while rich girls would visit beaches and sky resorts, tanning themselves. Suddenly, being slightly tanned is now considered "healthy" and, to some degree, "more beautiful".
I actually heard this exact theory about skin perceptions in western countries, and I think it's regarded pretty well by sociologists/historians. Being "too pale" is an insult these days among Whites, and many people specifically go to tanning salons or lie in the sun, just to tan/darken their skin tone.
I thought everyone was doing this.
(Also, never mention "Sea of Japan", or you'll be in deep trouble...)