Quote Originally Posted by HoreTore View Post
White skin ain't what people want.

The ideal is "tanned", which is quite a long way from northern european white.
This isn't really true, certainly not for women, while a lot of people today are pushing "tanned = hot" the idea of beauty is still stubbornly at the "alabaster skin with rosy cheeks and full red lips" end of the spectrum.

Being tanned means you are active and healthy, but a pale complexion shows you are wealthy enough to not need to work, and will show up any imperfections as well. So overall a fair and clear complexion is still prefferred by many people.

In India:

All the above, plus traditional class-backed racism. the Higher Indian castes have a high proportion of Greco-Iranian nobility in their bloodlines, this is what gives them their finer features, green or even blue eyes and pale skin. Essentially, in India they have bred-in the charactaristics we associate with nobility and wealth.