It's interesting to me that in first-world countries, a healthy tan can sometimes signify wealth, because if you've got enough time on your hands to relax out in the sun instead of working indoors all day, you must be well off. Contrast that with third-world countries, where fair skin means you're fortunate enough not to have to labor out in the hot sun all day.
While that's an interesting point, I am not sure that it is valid. This belief has nothing to do with the occupation. This belief that fairer skin tones are superior has sprung up because of cultural and historical factors -
- The first race to live in India were the Dravidians. Then came the Aryans who rode in horses and used iron weapons. They came in from the north and drove the Dravidians south. And unlike the Dravidians, the Aryans were very fair.
- In the Hindu caste system (link -
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_caste.asp), the topmost caste (called "Brahmins), were very fair. Brahmins served as the middlemen between God and men. They were the guardians of temples, and were the most excellent and the most intelligent of all created beings.
- Later in history, India was ruled by the French, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British who were all fair.
- Finally, all Indian actresses are very fair. If they are dark, they are given villainy roles. It is very hard to find a dark-skinned actress having a meaningful role.
All these factors have created a perception that people who are fair are endowed with some sort of superiority. And that belief seeped into families and into marriages. Today, at the time of marriage, parents ask for "fair brides" for their sons. I can show you numerous advertisements on the classifieds asking for brides that are "tall, thin and fair". Sadly, some people practice it even in my church!
MJ actually had a legitimate skin condition for which there is no treatment - vitiligo. He didn't try to lighten his skin to look white; his skin condition was causing splotchy patches of "caucasian" on him (it started on his hand, which is why he started wearing the glove). On people with darker skin, you can kind of end up looking mottled like a cow. As the disease destroys skin pigment, he figured the best way to avoid the mottled look was to wipe the rest of the pigment away so that he would at least have an even, consistent skin tone. He wasn't trying to look lighter, just trying to look not-vitiligo-y.
Wow. I am guilty of making fun of MJ because he changed his appearance. But I didn't bother to find out the reason behind it. I apologize for my numerous thoughtless remarks on his change. Thank you for sharing this information.