Skin Deep Analysis

Many people think that is it possible to achieve a “healthy tan,” but this thought has been proven wrong. Overexpose to UV-A and UV-B rays from the sun lead to premature aging of the skin, as well as the possible formation of skin cancer, know as melanoma. An appearance of a tan is actually a stage of burning and damage to the skin. Although a tan may be desirable to many, the fact remains that more people need to be educated on the dangers of the sun’s harmful rays, and the possible health complications of overexposure.

Geographical isolation in the past has caused a variation in skin color; natural selection selected specific skin pigments depending on environmental factors. Early humans who moved to Europe were introduced to a place that had less sunlight than their former place of residence. Overtime, light skin (skin with lower levels of melanin) was selected for since there were not as many UV rays that the skin needed protection from. But, what was wrong with having dark skin in Europe? How is extra melanin a disadvantage in this case? One thing to remember is that even though the sun can provide UV rays, sunlight is also a great source of natural vitamin D (Jablonski; Kirchweger). Vitamin D helps bones absorb calcium and is particularly essential for developing embryos in pregnant women. The adaptation for lighter skin was important because the skin needed to absorb as much sunlight as it could in order to receive optimal amounts of vitamin D (Kirchweger). However, too much vitamin D can be fatal. So as high amounts of melanin protected the skin from excessive UV rays in Africa, they also protected it from excessive vitamin D (Kirchweger).

In the article Skin Deep written by Nina Jablonski and George Chaplin, they discuss and look deeper into the diverse differences in skin color. Our skin color has developed over the years to be dark enough to prevent the damaging sunlight that has been harming our skin and the nutrient folate that it carries. At the same time out skin is light enough to receive vitamin D.

16. Human populations living in areas of intense sunlight tend to be darker skinned because of the

5. In the film, Dr. Jablonski explains that melanin, located in the top layer of human skin, absorbs UV radiation, protecting cells from the damaging effects of UV. Genetics determines the type of melanin (i.e., brown/black eumelanin or red/brown pheomelanin) and the amount of melanin present in an individual’s cells. Based on this information, write a hypothesis for where in the world you would expect to find human populations with

According to McIntosh’s suggestion, “we should acknowledge enormous unseen dimensions, talk about the obliviousness advantages, and raise our daily awareness on the perquisites of being light-skinned.” McIntosh’s approaches are characterized as reasonable to resolve the issue. By listing down every advantage she takes for granted, she is raising awareness in the society. By

The meaning, significance, and definition of race have been debated for centuries. Historical race concepts have varied across time and cultures, creating scientific, social, and political controversy. Of course, today’s definition varies from the scientific racism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that justified slavery and later, Jim Crow laws in the early twentieth. It is also different from the genetic inferiority argument that was present at the wake of the civil rights movement. However, despite the constantly shifting concepts, there seems to be one constant that has provided a foundation for ideas towards race: race is a matter of visually observable attributes such as skin color, facial features, and other self-evident

As the research continues it becomes ever more important to discuss how exactly the differing pigmentation of one race of people actually occurs, because I feel that it has an effect on the way colorism is handled throughout the African American community. There are two ways in which a person of African descent can be of a lighter complexion; the first being amalgamation, which is the coming together of both the black and white races and reproducing to make a mulatto or mixed race child and the second is the use of cosmetic creams in attempt to bleach one’s skin until they too appear mulatto (Dorman 48). This is relevant because, it shows the extremes that people are willing to go to reach the highest plateau of social acceptance. Many of these creams were painful acidic chemicals slowly burning away the pigmentation as people slept, while others were considered mild abrasive materials used to “gently” scrape away dark pigments (Dorman

Have you ever felt the “false sense of security that [you] may not feel under direct sunlight” from a tanning bed (Jeffrey)? Your body relaxes, you feel serene, and you get a golden glow. Some teens strive for this feeling...and the tan. Tanning is the skin's response to injury, according to Arielle Kauvar, M. D. The exposure of UV rays over time can cause skin cancer. Skin cancer is the growth of abnormal growth of skin cells that forms in the tissue of the skin (Skin Cancer). Melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, can come from UV rays. From 1998- 2008, the number of cases of Melanoma has increased by about

A familiar saying often used in reference to physical beauty says, “No pain, no gain.” However, in the case of tanning, “gain” translates to a risk of skin cancer, particularly melanoma. Across the United States, women and girls risk the possibility of skin cancer and other negative effects in exchange for bronzed or tan skin through the use of tanning beds and ultraviolet light (UV). There is not only a lack of scientific knowledge shared among Americans regarding the effects of UV on your skin, but also a cultural disconnect between the long term effects of tanning and the desire for a tan skin tone. When weighing the permanent impact tanning can have on your health and the health of you skin versus its temporary effects for a perception

Surprisingly, the sun-kissed tanned skin is what most younger whiter complexions are eagerly trying to desire; despite the risk of artificial tanning that could cause to a person’s health, but the rate of people using a tanning salon is still rising. In America, there are 30 million white females from ages 16 to 29 years old that are fascinated in indoor tanning (Becirevic, Amel et al, 2017). As the rate of tanning bed users rises the melanoma incident has also increased. Melanoma risk is associated with artificial tanning for a very long period of exposure to the ultraviolet radiation which skin problem can occur later in life. People used artificial tanning as it gives very quick result for a brief period and the fewest number of sessions

According to Ansell (2013), race is not real but merely a social construct that has been used to justify the inequalities that are a characteristic of our society. In exemplifying this school of thought, he argues that the difference in people’s skin pigmentation has more to do with their geographical location rather than biological inheritance. In this case, people who live in cooler climates tend to have lighter skins than those who live in warmer climates attributed to the difference in melanin levels that contribute to skin pigmentation. On the basis of this, society has come up with races which are not real.

According to Sherrif Ibrahim and Marc Brown, in Tanning and Cutaneous Malignancy, sun exposure, at the end of the 19th century, was considered a skin protectant to cancer. Ibrahim and Brown state that before the Industrial Revolution tan skin was a sign that someone was low class because he or she worked outdoors, while “porcelain” skin was associated with high society. After the Industrial Revolution, this idea switched and those who were tan we associated with being wealthy and happy since those who were tan had enough time to lounge around outdoors. Since then, the search for a perfect tan has increased and the first indoor tanning facility opened in 1978 in America (Ibrahim &

Melanin has played a significant role in human evolution. In this paper I will discuss the importance of melanin in its role in the human biological system and how it relates to the natural selection of suitable human life according to geography and environment.

We often connect ourselves to the world through our appearances. One of the first characteristics we notice about another human is the color of their skin. It is unavoidable, as the largest organ of the body, it covers and highlights our individual features and forms a protective wall against the elements. There is no escape from the social repercussions our pigmentation causes no matter what range of the very broad spectrum of color we fall into. I have never thought so much about the genetic and social evolution of skin and its properties until I read Nina Jablonski’s Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color. This book encompasses, in great detail, how our skin has evolved, adapted and mutated throughout time and in what