To think men prefer pale skin??

[Anastasia2]

Hi just a question to gather some opinions. Me and my friend went into the sauna this morning . A group of women were discussing fake tan & how it's useless as alot of men they've dated prefer lighter skin anyway..
My friend piped up - usually very opinionated and loud and said she's shocked as she's so pale and feels like next to me she looks ill.
(I am ethnic and my skin is a medium.brown shade)
Women proceeded to say about men actually prefer lighter skin, that its human nature and goes back to the eighteenth century.. i thi k these women were demographicallytaling about white males in their late 30s middle class as this seems to be the majority in the club were members at...Next thing a few men came into the sauna & they all got involved..they also said they neither preferred it they just didn't prefer "darker skin" it was a very uncomfortable conversation as I was the only one of colour 😂 but it did get me thinking if its true ..any thoughts?

I'm not saying there isn't a preference for paler skin in some ethnic communities because I know there is, how pale is she is a common question in matchmaking in south Asian communities but in white English communities it is fake tan that isn't liked (also big fake eyelashes, pumped up lips and heavy makeup according to dp)

As a deathly pale Celt I can assure you they don’t. Never had any positive comments on my skin ever, only that I look ill/need the sun!

A group of women were discussing fake tan & how it's useless as alot of men they've dated prefer lighter skin anyway..

If men don’t like it, it must be useless. 🙄 Combined with the racist undertones of the conversation, I don’t think these people are worth listening to OP.

Men, like women, are not one monolithic group who all want the same thing. Different men have different preferences, just like women. No one can speak for what 'men' like or 'women' like.

But at one point they might have been talking about fake tan as opposed to skin tone but then it sounds like it moved onto a thing about skin tone itself which sounds like undertones of something else there.

To the poster who's had it said to you just shows it can work both ways..I'm very open minded. Most of my friends are white. And I've heard similar comments said to them like you need a tan..ir go get some sun
So definitely aware it can work both ways.

I find in my experience...from growing up it was mostly females who complimented my skin tone and seemed positive about it..but because my type happens to he white males I don't feel like I get much attention from.white males rather than say Black, Asian or darker skinned people... so I guess I'm.generalising it all.

It’s human nature for men to prefer lighter skin

wtf are they talking about 🙄

what sort of person says this nonsense in front of someone who isn’t white or says it full stop

Wow! That's commitment!! What do you use? A gradual tan or a mousse or spray?

I find fake tan hideous.

It is truly a bizarre concept that so many women think they need to cover themselves in orange stuff or that there is something wrong with their natural skin colour.

As for men, everyone has different taste when it comes to what you find attractive.

I'm pale like a ghost in the winter but I can get a deep tan in the summer- So dark people would assume I'm from a different country. I find that I turn heads when I'm dark, quite the opposite of what those idiots in the sauna said!

Darker skin tends to look healthier IMO and as a pp said it hides blemishes etc.

My, there is something very wrong with these people.
Just thinking... @Anastasia2 are you noticeably younger than them?

Your brother's girlfriend is married to someone else?

Black people can also have a preference for lighter skin as a consequence of racism…

My brother’s girlfriend from years ago! When they broke up about a year or 2 later she met her husband.

I think there are several levels here…
Do men like the fake tan look? Sure, some will like the fake tan (and usually fake nails/lips/boobs) look. Others really don’t.
but that is a discussion of fake ran vs no fake tan, and given that the ladies use fake tan I wonder if they really believe that they are less attractive because they are darker?
that leaves a racist level. As in, men prefer lighter(white?) skinned women over (darker skinned) ethnic minorities. And that is a very nasty generalisation, even more so to have in front of someone from an ethic minority (and let’s not forget that worldwide, white is the minority).
as to what do men prefer…. Very small minded people might prefer someone exactly like them… class, education, race.
everyone else may have preferences - but they may not be so limiting.

Wasn’t lighter skin preferred all over the world due to darker skin being a consequence of working all day outdoors and richer people especially women were paler.

I know in China milky white is preferred. Same with Asians, the lighter the better.

Also I know quite a few marriages where the wife is the one with dark skin, I’m assuming their husbands had noticed.

I am ethnic

??

Most men I know hate the fake tanned look, and think it’s common / chavvy. Their preference is for a natural skin tone, of whatever colour.

Wasn’t lighter skin preferred all over the world due to darker skin being a consequence of working all day outdoors and richer people especially women were paler.
**
I know in China milky white is preferred. Same with Asians, the lighter the better.

No not really

Then in the west, a tan was preferred as it suggested you had the leisure to sunbathe in exotic places!

Wow. I'd find new friends

Oh! Makes sense. Though sorry for judging if it was an open arrangement that wasn't cool of me

Well, lots of asian women do use skin whitening creams, so there must be some truth in it. They do it for a reason, no?

A tan wasn't preferred, as it made you look like you worked outside, like a farm labourer.
Pale skin was preferred as it made you look like you were wealthy and could stay indoors all day.

Women proceeded to say about men actually prefer lighter skin, that its human nature and goes back to the eighteenth century

Not sure she can say that something going back to the 18th century is therefore some kind of innate human nature.

I always thought that in Britain paler skin was seen as more desirable a few hundred years ago because it signified wealth because you were rich enough to not have to be working outdoors where you'd be getting a tan eg farming. Might be bollocks though.