Thai Girls Whiter Than White!

[simon43]

Is it just me or do others find the appearance of whiter-than-white Thai girls somewhat scary? By this I mean the over-zealous use of whitening creams to bleach the skin. I watched a couple of girls on TV this morning and they were whiter than me! (And I am a pale-skined Brit). In fact they were so white, they took on the appearance of rather scary ghosts. An artificially-whitened face with jet-black hair and eyes. Looked silly really

I'm well aware of the wish by Thai women to keep out of the sun (dark skin seems to mean a lower status). And clearly the sale of such whitening creams is big business. (Just the opposite of many farang girls and guys who long to be brown).

On a recent trip to London I took my Thai GF to visit a skin specialist doctor for some treatment for her acne. We talked about skin whitening solutions and she advised that many of the products on sale in Asia are downright dangerous and damaging for the skin.

Maybe we can have a photo competition for the whitest Thai girl (and the darkest farang girl )

Simon

(White-skin with blotchy pink bits from too much sun)

[Mig15]

Isn’t it horrible? You just have to keep telling your girlfriend how beautiful she is without it. But they take more notice of the constant barrage of advertising telling them they need to be white.

[davethailand]

i think these really white girls look horrible, my wife loves being in the sun but she also moans about being to dark.

if thats true about dark skin being of lower status then we are lower status, who cares what anybody thinks.

[somtaamgaiyang]

Statue associated from dark skin v white skin is to do with being from the fields (exposed to sun) or a city dweller (in the office).

However, this glut of advertising for skin lightening creams drives me up the wall. Thai TV is bad enough but to be bombarded with these adverts endlessly is too much.

As the economy has rebounded, the cosmetics industry has gone crazy. I just tell my wife (a teacher) that the only women with ghostly white skin work in bars at night and sleep all day. Thais are not meant to be white, unless someone hadn't noticed we are quite a way further south on the globe than most of europe.

Cheers,

SGY

[ChiangMaiThai]

I think the Thai girls with white skin are simply far more attractive than those with dark brown skin. But when I first arrived here in '95 i didn't hold this same opinion. So maybe that is the power of the media ie. all models, singers etc. have white skin- they're not from Issan. Or maybe they really are more attractive. I don't know.

There is one international model, I believe from Issan who was discovered selling noodles or something in a market. She has darker skin and a flatter nose if memory serves me correctly. its interesting to note that she has had an amazingly successful career modelling for the most famous brands in the worls, living in Paris and New York, making millions of dollars, BUT she's never been used in any ads in Thailand that I am aware of and I would venture to say that less than 1 in 100 Thais would even recognize her face.

[shopgurl]

Good quote today from Bkk Post:

"If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn't have to advertise them."

- Will Rogers

[Boon Mee]

The use of whitening cremes for Thai girls is worse than the radical difference when they get nose-jobs. I can handle a "faranged" nose but white Thais look baaad.

[NedKelly]

It is institutionalised racism against anyone with features that do not meet with the desired physical characteristics as valued by a certain ehtnic miority in Thailand.

Maybe a new market willopen up in future....... for the skin cancer sufferers........the numbers will rise for sure as the number of pale skinned people rises.

Countires like Australia are actively trying to diversify their popluations genetic base so that in the long run something like skin cancer wont be such a problem as there will be more people with 'appropriate' skin types for Australian conditions.

The white skinned people you see on Thai tv are not as attractive as the average person you may see in the street. But thats just my opinion. The people on tv are just washed, out pasty looking skin and bones mannequins. Any walk along a street in anytown or place in Thailand will soon have you looking at people who are more attractive than the ghosts of tv.

[penzman]

I find it interesting to see these different ways of thinking with different cultures...

This reminds me of an advert i saw on tv a few days ago... A thai girl sitting at the beauty salon or hairdresser, i forget, and then she is suddenly horrified as she sees her face turning black in the mirror...

Another one was a couple of guys noticing a few white skinned thai girls (in what looked like a university sports stadium)... while ignoring the dark skinned girls.

I went shopping at Tesco yesterday and bought a BLACK MAN mop and squeegee...

see the image at : http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3f4832d8_a8...hLf_ZABQaU6KlbM

I also have a tube of Darlie toothpaste on which you can see a man dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, I remember reading somewhere that the the man's face used to be black...

My GF was very surprised when i once told her i had a membership card at the tanning salon next door to my house back home in Canada.

[simon43]

Certainly it seems to be a fallacy amongst Thai girls that (white) farang guys want their Thai GFs to be whiter than white. I'm happy with my GF just the way she is (nice Issan tan!). Spending loads of money on bleaching her skin will not make me love her more. (Probably less cos its me payin for the ###### stuff...)

What do Thai members of this forum think? If you are a Thai guy, does it concern you whether your Thai wife/GF is brown-skinned or do you want her to bathe in bleach every day? And what do Thai girls think (since its many of you who spend a fortune on this whitening rubbish)

[shopgurl]

A little trivia, Darlie toothpaste was originally named Darkie but changed due to apparent reasons...

[meadish_sweetball]

It's all a matter of taste, isn't it?

While I generally agree that most Thais are not meant to be white (the longer you live here, the more you will notice what an immense ethnic variety on the East Asian scale counts as "Thai" - and who is "white" anyway?? Light skin colour in yellowish or reddish/pinkish varieties is what we're talking about, except for those whose faces are entirely covered in powder, like Japanese No actors or Chinese/Vietnamese stage performers.) - there are a few Thais that are - in the North you will see Thais even in the countryside whose skin is quite light, a fact which Thais themselves never fail to point out in their third or fourth comment in a conversation about the North/Chiang Mai.

"Saao Chiang Mai suay... phiw khaao." "Chiang Mai girls are beautiful, they have white skin."

It is equally true that most "classic" Northern European types are not meant to be brown, and the lengths to which some people go in order to secure themselves skin cancer is pretty amazing as well.

Of course, it is within the commercial world these values are created / exploited - and what can be more profitable than convincing "white" people to try to to become brown, while encouraging "brown" people to try to become white?

Simple laws of marketing. Like it or not. (I definitely don't.)

Remember, once your girlfriend is your girlfriend, she is less worried about looking beautiful for you, but more worried about what the rest of the world thinks about her looks. Encouragement might help though, but it surely doesn't beat the billions of baht which go into marketing the bleaching products.

[shopgurl]

Would definitely say it's a question of self worth and the misconception that the color of a person determines who they are (a tiresome fight that has prevailed hundreds of years already). I find the prevalent obsession with white skin among Thai females and some males to be solely attributed due to the intense advertising and surrounding environment that people today submerge themselves into. It's appallingly sad that it's not about being independent or your own person that stands out today but it's about fitting in and social acceptance to the wrong extent or content even. Children and teenagers simply aren't educated enough to differenciate and are drawn to aesthetically hyped up commercials selling products that we ourselves inadvertantly induce by letting this belief about beauty being in the image of whiteness linger on.

[thailien8]

Whenever I am sitting in a bar, and two or more girls approach me, our conversation often quickly locks on to the topic of skin color. Typically, the Thai girl will make some disparaging remark about the color of her own "black" skin. My usual retort is that her skin is not black, but gold color (pyuu see thong). My skin is not white, but red. To challenge her stereotype of white skin being more beautiful than dark, sometimes I have the girls compare the color of their skin. If one girl is noticeably darker than the other(s), I always say I prefer dark. To reinforce this, I buy only the darker-hued girl a drink. Hope this helps her self-esteem.

[Boon Mee]

A little trivia, Darlie toothpaste was originally named Darkie but changed due to apparent reasons...

Darkie Toothpaste was changed to Darlie due to Political Correctness.

There used to be this chain of restaurants in Calif. that was named "Sambos" after the founder who's name was Sambo - a white guy. Political correctness demanded he change the name.

[Bluecat]

Statue associated from dark skin v white skin is to do with being from the fields (exposed to sun) or a city dweller (in the office).

Actually, this kind of "belief" was quite common in northern Europe up to the middle of last century.

At least with the women, they were covering themselves as much as they could so that they would not get "darker" during SUMMER time, which would have meant they were working in the fields and of "lower" status, money wise,....

These days, the situation is just reverse. The darker you get in WINTER time indicates that you are of "higher" status, money wise again since you can afford holidays in far away countries where the sun is always shining

[Boon Mee]

Maybe it's a Michael Jackson thing. Some girls want to look like him?

[Gatsby]

This is probably one of the only annoying stereotypical "thai woman" traits my wife has. She absolutely hates dark skin and uses that ###### Nivea whitening lotion. I personally prefer dark skinned girls. She is already light skinned by Thai standards, but I can't get her to listen to me. Oh well!

[Bluecat]

I personally prefer dark skinned girls.

I will tell you a french joke.

In french, the best parts of the chicken are called "white" (the meat part).

So they say in french: "What is the difference in between chickens and tanned women?"

"None, the best part is the white part,..."

[Boon Mee]

This is probably one of the only annoying stereotypical "thai woman" traits my wife has.  She absolutely hates dark skin and uses that ######  Nivea whitening lotion.  I personally prefer dark skinned girls.  She is already light skinned by Thai standards, but I can't get her to listen to me.  Oh well!

If you like dark-skinned girls, Gatsby, head on over to India. There's some really beautiful chicks there and in Burma too (not as dark).

[KevinN]

BOON MEE, You are right of coarse,But remember what the logo of SAMBO'S was?

It was a real black picininny in a tree surrounded by a bunch of tigers running in circles til they would melt down into butter, as per the childrens story of LITTLE BLACK SAMBO.

and on the topic.

I prefer the ladies just the color they are,I don't think that the skin whitiners are very healthy on the skin and who really gives a ###### if they are dark or light,a good woman is a good woman and a BITCH is a Bitch,no matter the color. skin color has nothing to do with what is inside.

[Boon Mee]

BOON MEE, You are right of coarse,But remember what the logo of SAMBO'S was?

It was a real black picininny in a tree surrounded by a bunch of tigers running in circles til they would melt down into butter, as per the childrens story of LITTLE BLACK SAMBO.

and on the topic.

I prefer the ladies just the color they are,I don't think that the skin whitiners are very healthy on the skin and who really gives a ###### if they are dark or light,a good woman is a good woman and a BITCH is a Bitch,no matter the color. skin color has nothing to do with what is inside.

KevinN~

As I remember, the owner of that chain of restaurants was named Sambo - hence the name for the eateries. It was a big deal when the government or whoever made him change the name. This was the beginning of Political Correctness which has turned into Affirmative Action and we all know what a sorry program that has become.

[fatter than harry]

The same could be said of Micheal Jackson

[tutsiwarrior]

boon...beg to differ...affirmative action was a policy that was implemented by the US gov't in early 70s...political correctness was an attitude instigated by frustrated leftists in the early 80s...I lived in Berkeley at the time and saw it all develope. I was dismayed to find that young people could not be 'correct' unless they did not smoke, drink, eat meat or have sex...during the days of affirmative action no one gave a <deleted> about those considerations

I have an anecdote regarding the concerns of dark skinned women in places where light colorured skin is preferred...a dark woman living in the high Andes wants to not become any darker due to more intense ultra-violet rays at altitude so she goes about outdoors with a parasol to deflect the nasty rays...due to the parasol blocking her vision she stepped in front of a pick up and was killed...she was my mom and was as dark as the day she was born when we screwed down the coffin lid before burial

oh, vanity...what crimes are commited in your name?

[Boon Mee]

tutsi~

Re. PC & A.A, I was lumping the two together and it's not quite correct as you pointed out. My "take" on the deal where the owner of Sambos Restaurants was forced to change the name is, BS. But we don't live in a perfect world and I suppose it can be interpreted as possibly racist.

The affirmitive action situation is a different hair-ball & too involved to really explore right now.

That's a he11 of an anecdote! My condolences.

Talking about vanity, don't know if you've heard of the numbers of folks in the states getting Botox injections. There was this 80 yr. old guy on tv last night getting a few jabs for his facial wrinkles. Unreal...

[tutsiwarrior]

boon...thanks for the condolences...it all happened 20 years ago...just wanted to illustrate the extremes that people go through to achieve the desired appearance...

[Boon Mee]

boon...thanks for the condolences...it all happened 20 years ago...just wanted to illustrate the extremes that people go through to achieve the desired appearance...

More & more people are going under the knife at an earlier age too. They're calling it "lifetime maintenance" starting in their 20s getting tucks here, lifts there. It's become more accessible to everyday folks 'cause prices have dropped.

It ain't for me - c'mon wrinkles, I don't give a sh1t!

[tutsiwarrior]

I agree that everyone should become comfortable with their appearance in middle age...the way I look now should be the way I look when I check out...but I can't convince the wife who has gained some weight and continues to pluck the odd grey hair. I say cool it...you're always gonna look great to me but, nonetheless...

when in jakarta some 8 years ago I had a lady friend that was 45 years with streaks of grey and sagging t1ts and facial...didn't matter as she was one of the lovliest ladies that I have ever been with and better...she was proud of her looks and knew that she never had to compete with young women. However, that approach does not predominate, hence lovely young women with dark skin wanting to be white and etc. There is a woman friend of my wife here in Thailand that could be mistaken for african except for her vaguely asian features...she is absolutely gorgeous and has no need to lighten her skin...her wicked grin and dazzling white teeth have laid many a falang low...

but...I digress...

[Gatsby]

This is probably one of the only annoying stereotypical "thai woman" traits my wife has.  She absolutely hates dark skin and uses that ######  Nivea whitening lotion.  I personally prefer dark skinned girls.  She is already light skinned by Thai standards, but I can't get her to listen to me.  Oh well!

If you like dark-skinned girls, Gatsby, head on over to India. There's some really beautiful chicks there and in Burma too (not as dark).

I think my wife is quite good enough, thanks for the ideas however

[D80]

What do Thai members of this forum think? If you are a Thai guy, does it concern you whether your Thai wife/GF is brown-skinned or do you want her to bathe in bleach every day? And what do Thai girls think (since its many of you who spend a fortune on this whitening rubbish) 

Well, I'm a Thai woman and I've never used skin whitening stuff and never will. having said that I have got some chinese in me which means my skin is quite light anyway.

I know some of my friends were really obsessed with having light skin when we were teenagers. I don't know if they are still like that now. Most girls I hang out with don't really seem to care.

I guess it's a lot to do with wanting to have something you don't possess in the first place. I sometimes wish my skin was a little darker Lots of white girls I know here (uk) also wants to be tanned/darker skinned. I don't know... sometimes it's hard to tell what the person's original colour is. A friend of mine is really addicted to sunbed and has all year tan. And when I said 'all year tan' I mean literally 'ALL YEAR' and she was really really 'tanned'!

The grass is always greener....that sort of thing! hehehe