blanca

In the west, we value a good tan. As a redheaded decendent of the pigment-challenged Irish, I am acutely aware of this fact. In our highly industrialized society, there's a belief that the working class labors indoors under flourescent lighting while the rich have the leisure time and money to lie on a beach. So a tan implies wealth, health and status.

Thailand, and apparently much of Asia, are different. The poor laborers here spend their time in fields, on the water, and on construction sites, where it's impossible to avoid a deep tan. The rich work in offices (speaking very generally). So here, a tan is a marker of poverty and low-class status. Much like being pale in the west, this is considered unattractive. Of course, this falls mostly on women and girls; perception of female beauty is largely dependent on skin shade. And as with our slew of bronzing, self-tanning, sun-attracting products back home, this insistence on an arbitrary feminine ideal gives rise to a really, really stupid industry.

I ran out of deodorant last week. I'd brought a few months' worth from Spain because I'm picky (that gooey roll-on stuff grosses me out and is ubiquitous everywhere I've travelled) but I finally exhausted my supply and went to the store. What I encountered was at least ten different brands of deodorant, each that messy goop, and each containing skin-whitening components. For my armpits. And to think, I had no idea! All those years of off-white armpits, all those sundresses and tank tops in which I flaunted them to my oblivious humiliation!

And it's not just deodorant. While your sunscreen prevents that disgusting tan, it's making your base-level white a shade lighter. Your dead-white liquid foundation will bleach your face for you. Moisterizer, lotion, shaving cream, cleansers, body wash, masks, powder--every skin product imaginable. For some of these products, like deodorant, it's challenging or impossible to find something that doesn't offer to make some part of your body porcelain white. Your face, your hands, your legs, your freaking armpits. This horrifying article discusses vaginal whitening wash. (After several attempts at a snarky remark on this subject, I've decided that it lampoons itself just fine without my help.)

Given no other options, I purchased the one with the least offensive packaging. It smells like bug spray and gets all over my clothes. But I'm sure no one will be able to resist me and my glaring white underarms.