Comments on Difference Blog by Dan4th: Skin tone, Gender, and attractiveness

Unlike women, men do not readily discuss personal ...

2009-08-19T02:29:07.637-04:00

Unlike women, men do not readily discuss personal medical conditions and disorders with their friends. It is for this reason that pearly penile papules are very misunderstood.

It is not surprising that you would be plagued by worry and paranoia at the appearance of a bump on the rim of your penis. Immediately you would suspect venereal disease or even worse, cancer. The likelihood is that you do not have either, but rather a simple case of pearly penile papules. Pearly penile papules
are very common among men, especially uncircumcised men. They are not as a result of bad hygiene and are not contagious in any way whatsoever. Many men actually find that they appear and disappear without any treatment at all.

However, if you are feeling uncomfortable with them, they can be effectively removed with a simple treatment of radiofrequency surgery. You should however consult your doctor and have them seen to should they emit a discharge or are physically painful.

Andromeda said: "Of course it could very well be a...

2008-03-19T10:43:15.017-04:00

Andromeda said: "Of course it could very well be a class thing, but how different are class things and standards of attractiveness, anyway? How different have they ever been?"

I think this is the best point yet. Tanned skin only became a status symbol in western cultures from about 1950 onwards, and took a step back with the skin cancer scares in the 1990s (but I think people generally still don't want to be "pale" in western cultures)

I guess I was confused by the statement "I've often wondered if there's some genuine there there." I'm not sure what you're referring to as genuine.

I definitely wasn't trying to say that Egyptian ar...

2008-03-19T10:37:52.181-04:00

I definitely wasn't trying to say that Egyptian art was portraying a racial thing! I mean, I'm not talking about North African women vs. Nubian men or anything. Just saying that the same skin tone/attractiveness issue seemed to exist in a very different time and place clearly not subject to our commercial influences.

Of course it could very well be a class thing, but how different are class things and standards of attractiveness, anyway? How different have they ever been?

I think there's two value judgments going on here ...

2008-03-18T13:07:36.449-04:00

I think there's two value judgments going on here that are present in many cultures around the world:

1. Lighter skin is seen as more beautiful and as a sign of privilege or protected status (you don't have to be out working in the sun).

2. Women are more valued for their beauty and for having been protected (esp. re. virginity) than men are.

Put the two together, and you get a particular aesthetic norm, from Mexico to Japan to Egypt to India. These days I don't think it's as prevalent in the US.

I'm hoping that someday drow will be in style: dark purple skin with white or light purple hair!

@astrogeek01/@andromeda: I really want to emphasi...

2008-03-18T12:33:57.960-04:00

@astrogeek01/@andromeda: I really want to emphasize that they are not comparing people of different races in this study, as far as I was able to tell. The study was looking at portrayals of white women vs. white men and black women vs black men. (and in terms of the "state of undress" portion, white women vs. white women).

While there are ethnic differences in complexion darkness within race, I think astrogeek01 is right to categorize this as a class issue rather than a racial one. Hell, that's why I like pale people - they're more likely to be of my social class.

Andromeda: I believe in ancient Egypt that women ...

2008-03-18T12:30:20.248-04:00

Andromeda: I believe in ancient Egypt that women in the higher classes were generally kept indoors, and thus were actually not tan vs the men who went outside and were tan. Which is separate from a racial skin tone difference.

imdissertating said on the LJ feed:Wow, there is s...

2008-03-18T12:12:49.359-04:00

imdissertating said on the LJ feed:

Wow, there is so much to say here but I'll keep it short. There are all sorts of racialized stereotypes present here (white/light skin women as more attractive, dark skin men as hypersexual). I'm going to bookmark this research to use in my class next time I teach about these things.

I replied:

Thanks! Take a look at the methods in the full paper. There's interesting stuff going on. I feel like it's more "in-race" interesting that "between-race" interesting, but maybe I'm being naive.

(I almost missed this comment because it was on the feed! Glad I checked!)

@mbigmistake: I try to avoid blogging about trans...

2008-03-18T11:21:21.999-04:00

@mbigmistake: I try to avoid blogging about transfolks in general, because I think we're a confound when thinking about gender topics. We're a straw man argument. However, the guys over at FTM Community on LiveJournal often have useful studies along those lines, when they exist (which isn't often. Transition is so non-standardized that it's nearly impossible to do good research on transfolks).

In terms of just-plain anxiety research, you may want to look through the tags: anxiety

Hey, this comment is totally out of place...but ju...

2008-03-18T11:16:12.378-04:00

Hey, this comment is totally out of place...but just a note that I'd love to see some studies about anxiety and gender...and anxiety and trans folks who are on hormones. Something like...what is the breakdown of who is taking SSRIs male vs female...and is there any indication that, when you become hormonally the "other gender" does your anxiety level move towards what you'd expect for that "other gender" or does it stay the same (obviously, this is complicated by the fact that anxiety could be relieved or heightened specifically due to transition)

I guess I'm not trying to deny that there's a pref...

2008-03-18T10:50:45.263-04:00

I guess I'm not trying to deny that there's a preference for paler women - but that strikes me as part of the "femininity as intentional uselessness" paradigm, like long nails or bound feet.

See, I dunno. Because in ancient Egyptian art you...

2008-03-18T10:43:59.975-04:00

See, I dunno. Because in ancient Egyptian art you see exactly the same phenomenon -- fair-skinned women, dark-skinned men. I've often wondered if there's some genuine there there.

@astrogeek01: Okay, you are 100% my hero right no...

2008-03-18T10:07:03.708-04:00

@astrogeek01: Okay, you are 100% my hero right now. <3

Heh, I don't know, He-man there looks like he's in...

2008-03-18T09:56:51.696-04:00

Heh, I don't know, He-man there looks like he's in a pretty advanced state of undress... ;)