The fashionability of getting tanned vs staying pale is an interesting topic in the Western history as well. Back in the agrarian societies when most people worked outside, pale skin was the "expensive signal" for the ladies. Sort of "look at me! I'm so wealthy and high class that I can stay indoors all day." Industrial revolution made indoor jobs more common and slowly the tanned skin became the symbol of wealth. "Look at me! I can afford to travel south and lay on the beaches." I think in the most recent years with travel being more accessible to masses, it's starting to lose status, but it is still a symbol of an active, healthy lifestyle.
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The fashionability of getting tanned vs staying pale is an interesting topic in the Western history as well. Back in the agrarian societies when most people worked outside, pale skin was the "expensive signal" for the ladies. Sort of "look at me! I'm so wealthy and high class that I can stay indoors all day." Industrial revolution made indoor jobs more common and slowly the tanned skin became the symbol of wealth. "Look at me! I can afford to travel south and lay on the beaches." I think in the most recent years with travel being more accessible to masses, it's starting to lose status, but it is still a symbol of an active, healthy lifestyle.