Hacker News Reader

Comment by devs1010 | Hacker News Reader

Is it just me or do some Asians not seem nearly as white as caucasians? It seems especially Japanese can be fairly pale, I think its fairly subjective to say people of European ancestry are universally the most pale on earth.

View on HN

Japanese have beauty standard to be pale. Scandinavians have the opposite here.

And do you know anyone from japan who is not albino and virtually could not get a tan. I myself and loads of Finnish people I know are really sensitive to sunlight.

The depigmentation ("whiteness") referred to in the article also applies to hair and eye color. Although some East Asians may be pale, their hair and eyes are generally not depigmented.

I understand that point, I just think the author goes a bit far in his assertions. There are many races that have some extent of depigmentation, which I take to mean that they can change their skin tan level by going out in the sun more or less, so it can be a bit subjective to say exactly which are the most pale, however the hair and eye color is less subjective.

Of course they do not. Malaysians for example are dark colored, as are Indonesians etc. Also Indians are far from pale.

I work with many Indians and they themselves refer to "Asian" as a different race (meaning East Asian), so I didn't mean Indian people by this, rather East Asian, obviously many East Asians are much darker skinned than whites, however I personally know Asians that are fairly pale and I am sure at times I have been more tan than they are (when I would spend more time outside) and I primarily of German-Irish ancestry.

For whatever reason, pale skin is highly coveted by many Asian cultures and some will avoid the sun almost entirely to avoid darkening their skin. As well as using (potentially dangerous) skin lightening products which is a huge market in Asia: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v35/naacr_vol35_273.pdf

Interesting.. although the ones I'm referring to live here in the U.S., some were born here so I don't think they are a part of this trend.

>For whatever reason, pale skin is highly coveted by many Asian cultures and some will avoid the sun almost entirely to avoid darkening their skin.

Isn't the opposite also true in Western cultures? In Europe, where I live, people want to look darker, and go sunbathing. And in the US there's also this "fake tan" thing.

Here in Southeastern Europe, there's definitely a strong preference towards white in folklore; 150 years ago, only rich folks' daughters could afford to avoid crop work and stay indoors long enough to stay white.

Tanning is a recent phenomenon, started in the 20's as I recall.

Both are a result of the socio-economic signals they send. Until recent history in industrialized nations, being able to spend your days inside, as opposed to in the sun, where your skin darkens, was a luxury that only money/power could buy. In today's society, being able to go on vacation and darken your skin is a luxury not afforded to the average working man who spends his days working, largely indoors.

It's all about socio-economic status signals.

Dialect quirk. In the United States "Asian" refers exclusively to East Asian people - Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc, and does not include Indians, Pakistanis, Russians, or anyone else on the continent.

My understanding is that in British English "Asian" can include Indians and others from around there. I don't know if Russians are included, though.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com