User Comments - zhenlijiang

Posted on: Fun at the Beach

Not Japanese, but a hugely popular swimsuit model from Hawaii named Agnes Lum did have an influence--not that any of us ever thought we could be like her if we aspired to. FYI 小麦色 komugi-iro is the Japanese term used to describe tanned skin as pleasing to the eye, as a healthy, wholesome sort of attribute.

Bottom line with Japanese women's current (because we have hindsight now, have experimented with tanning when it was in fashion, and have seen what it seems to do to people once they're older) attitude on tanning and beauty--may be fine while you're young, but you'll pay the price later on (= extremely unwise).

jijinfrance says further up this subthread: In Chinese, we have a saying "一白遮三丑”(yī bái zhē sān chǒu). Literally means "the white and fair skin can overshadow three ugly deformities." ... We feel the same way: 色の白いは七難隠す iro no shiro-i wa shichi-nan kakusu. Fairness is considered so desirable as to get people to overlook as many as seven flaws!

Posted on: Fun at the Beach

P.S. I have heard about cosmetics for the Indian market claiming to make your complexion fairer. That's different though, from 美白. 美白 is for East Asian women whose skin is fair to begin with, for maintaining the lightness and combating blemishes.

Posted on: Fun at the Beach

Japan went through a period (late 70s - early 80s) when everybody in the city was trying to look like a surfer. It was truly unfashionable in those days to be pale. Before that, around the late 60s - early 70s, the idea of tanning to look good was introduced as a fashion trend in Japan for the first time I believe. People were much more self-conscious in those days though about exposing skin in public, and the older generation (my mom's) never went for it, never thought a tan was desirable.

In 2010, male "hosts" working in nightclubs that cater to women who have more money than they know what to do with are one type often maintaining a tan. As with the gangro girls (see pic posted by XiaoLiang), their tans are not from the sun but from tanning salons. Sorry this is a stereotype, but this leads me to conclude that tanning machines may fry your brains ...

The gangros and hosts are not mainstream by any means: it's all sub-culture stuff.

Ask anyone in product development or marketing at any major cosmetics company if Japanese women (yes you're right about gender) prefer fair complexions. Cosmetics purporting to lighten sun spots and freckles or "brighten" your face only have a significant market in East Asia including Japan; at the same time this 美白 market is enormous.

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

Aha, but I knew I'd seen a gangro pic recently around here!

Posted on: World Cup Talk

You Americans can be proud of the run your guys had. Brave as your captain was though, guess not having a real striker in your squad was pretty tough.

Wouldn't it be something now, if anyone stopped Brazil on their way to another championship.

Posted on: Fun at the Beach

Or maybe even just a disgusted roll of the eyes, were this, say, an American girl with her boyfriend. I think this specific use is off-limits to everybody except young women, maybe a teacher could confirm?

Posted on: Fun at the Beach

We should probably note the use of 讨厌 as in the dialogue would be by girls only, correct? We have the same thing in Japanese.

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

Faded--haha yes thank goodness. Once in a while I'll still see hardcore hangers-on. And yes having a fair unfreckled complexion is a desirable attribute for women, not men, as I'm sure must also be the case in China. I think men would generally prefer not to be too fair, not to look pasty. Having surfing as your passion and the tan to show for it esp if you have a well-paid suit-wearing city job is seen as quite cool if you're a guy.

Now do I have to watch the boards and listen to all the lessons, to make sure you're not spreading outdated info about Japan (sometimes I feel like I have to watch Changye. He's been away too long)??

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

Yes there was that "forgot sth. at someplace" VS. "left sth. at someplace" (I say both) debate.

Oh I guess people sometimes can talk like that, but to me it's strange; like saying "I accidentally lost weight".

Posted on: An Unplanned Tan

OK I just read the article you linked to. I am older than 35. But how come I've never heard or seen "on accident" in my (longish) lifetime, till now?

* hmm on second thought, the whole "accident" thing seems a bit unsuitable for this situation. That bothers me now. Unintended, unwanted, unplanned. "A tan you didn't mean to get". "A tan you carelessly failed to prevent", you know. But an accidental tan--? Please don't tell me this is also age-related. *