A woman has just come up and said…

[Needhelp1000]

I’m currently in Spain and I’m a bit sunburnt from my first day here.
its now the secone day and a woman has just come up to me (on a local tour guide trip) and said how awful I look with sunburn. I’m upset about the comment.

AIBU?? A friend said no but I did comment to woman she didn’t need to be so rude.

People from Southern Europe would be unlikely to say that loudly though.

Sunburn which is completely under the OP's control is a different matter.

OP said she was British

Sorry I missed that, rude or drunk then

No, she was rude. Plain and simple.

ii have rosacea, and am forever being 'told' i have sunburn, usually by men <eyeroll>

Proper fucks me off.

Why not just take it as she meant that looks awful in the sense it must be painful.

I'd think she meant that too. Sometimes on the beach in the UK I can see people roasting red with my sunglasses on. The kind me would ask them if they needed suncream. The cynical me thinks people burn on purpose to speed up tanning. Either way I say nothing. Everyone knows about skin cancer and ageing now surely so I don't point it out. I think she was saying your burnt in case it had just happened, before the burning kicks in as you don't realise whilst your burning. She was being kind probably which I why I wouldn't say anything, to prevent a backlash.

Just hiss back 'I am vampyre, I suck your blood' and make that Hannibal Lecter noise.

Scuse me?! 🤣 I've got more than one extra nipple, and I'd be really nonplussed if someone felt the need to walk up to me and inform me of the existence of my own body parts. Third nipples aren't even that uncommon, something like 1 in 20 people have them.

How many of these 'helpful' women would go up to a man and offer him unasked for advice? None, would be my guess. Simpering though, they might do that.

and your ugly dress is also under your control.

just keep it zipped if you're ever tempted to make some personal comment to a stranger.

what is it with people snarking at the OP as though she deserves people being rude to her for committing the great crime of getting sunburnt?

that's rather rude

Nope. I had a memorable run in with someone like that once in a group holiday. I gave it to her right back and she made a total song and dance, tears and arm waving, the works. Was absolutely hilarious. I’d had just enough wine to be mellow about it and everyone else secretly commented they were delighted because she did it to all of them at times.

The woman was rude.

The cynical me thinks people burn on purpose to speed up tanning.

What? It does that? Does it not just make the skin peel off so you're as pale as you were before?

I know a number of people that go red then it turns a brownish red

this isn’t tanning this is burnt skin but they will put themselves through this year after year

you only need to go on holiday where there is a number of Northern Europeans to see this

I’m dark olive skin I wear factor 50 then go down to 30. I see many with much fairer skin wearing factor 20 in really hot sun and will lie directly in the sun

my son is very fair thankfully he doesn’t seem bothered by the comments (and plenty from my Asian side of the family) but I think having a tan was very much a 90’s fashion more so than now

Was she English or Spanish? I've lived in Spain and I know the locals are appalled at how Brits get so sunburnt. It's the same in Portugal - they have a derogatory term for sunburnt Brits. They really disapprove!

Might you have misunderstood her?

It sounds like she's one of those people who is very proud of being 'honest' and 'telling it like it is' but is in fact just a rude arsehole.

Even if what she meant was 'Oh, that sunburn looks sore' it's still none of her business and a weird thing to walk up to a stranger and say.

I get really severe reaction to insect bites and was on holiday overseas once with about 40 very nasty, very obvious and unbearably itchy bites all over my legs. It wasn't a beach holiday but the hotel had a pool and I was relaxing with a book and a cold drink after a day of sightseeing, so was wearing shorts and a bikini top. An American woman took it upon herself to march up to me and said 'Ewww, did something bite you?' I said 'Yeah - unfortunately I get a really bad reaction to insect bites' and she proceeded to tell me how gross they looked and how people wouldn't want to be in the pool with me. THANKS, RANDOM AMERICAN WOMAN! Such a helpful comment.

She was both concerned and rude. If she was spanish, she was probably trying to mother you. They are quite direct. I am spanish myself! I do look at people being burnt and feel like I need to say something. It's stupid. It's their life and they do probably know... we need to just keep it to ourselves. I guess I hate being burnt. It feels belittling, which is why you felt upset. So it was rude but she probably did feel some misplaced concern. She's probably not in a good place herself. To go up to randoms and make comments is overstepping. X

she was British

Wise words from Helen Mirren. Don’t take any notice OP, hope you are in not too much pain and skin will recover quickly

I hate people who feel the need to tell you, you are sunburnt when you are likely very aware and in agony. Likely have no tact and you told her she was rude so good for you and I’m sure are lathering on the spf 50 x

How on earth did you get burned if you were using factor 50 ? Most people do not use enough sunscreen, a bottle should only last a couple of days and should be applied every hour.

I tan through Factor 50 (Mediterranean background), so I can see why fairer skin might burn. I don't think any sunscreen offers a complete 100% block.

was she Spanish or a fellow Brit? Really makes the difference on how to take it. locals don’t normally get so ‘sunburned’ it stands out