這篇文章是我們公司同事Aileen爲“英語，美容，西方文化培訓”寫的，非常感謝~~~
10月Beauty（美人志）
Beyond Skin Deep
膚色流行：黑白無常
By Aileen Hsu
I saw her palms first. My eyes traveled up to her face, and my expression was nothing short of aghast. It was June - Halloween had long been over, and my junior high school classmate Steph looked as though she was trying to be the Great Pumpkin. Her peachy complexion was gone; it was now masked by a color that should never be found on human skin - bright orange. She shrugged. "Yeah…I should have washed my hands right after," she replied sheepishly. This was the first time I learned about self-tanner or "fake tan", a lotion rubbed onto the skin that gives the appearance of a suntan.
我首先看到的是她手掌的顏色，隨後目光上移，注意到她的臉，我完全被嚇到了。現在正值六月，萬聖節已經過去多時，但我的初中同學Steph看起來 卻像是要把自己打扮成一個萬聖節的大南瓜！她粉撲撲的膚色完全消失了，取而代之的是一種完全不屬於人類膚色的亮橘色，這樣看上去，她好像戴上了一個奇怪的面具。她聳聳肩說："當然，我弄完之後應該先把手洗乾淨的……"這是我第一次體驗到所謂的美黑霜，就是不用曬太陽，把它抹在皮膚上就能讓自己擁有日曬般古銅色皮膚的乳液。
During our teenage years, tanning was all the rage. As soon as the weather warmed up, my schoolmates would bust out their tank tops and shorts and spend hours laying in their yards soaking up the rays. They would compare tans upon returning from trips to Florida beaches during Spring Break. Most of them burned, and the peeling, raw, bright red skin on their noses, necks, backs, and arms made them look like they were suffering from particularly severe cases of Asian glow. After the skin had finished peeling and the pain and redness were gone, their skin acquired that beautiful bronze glow and all the pain seemed worth it. Americans and Europeans like to be tan. To them, paleness symbolizes the winter blues and sickliness. A glowing tan embodies health, athleticism, and sophistication.
在我們十幾歲的時候， 人人都瘋狂得去曬黑。每當夏天悄悄來臨的時候，我的同學們就穿着熱辣的抹胸和短褲躺在院子里長時間地接受陽光照射。春天從佛羅里達度假歸來後，大家會互相攀比，看看誰的皮膚曬得比較黑。儘管曬過之後，大部分人從鼻子、脖子、後背到四肢都會脫皮、通紅、刺痛， 好像亞洲人飲酒的那種樣子。。。臉紅，但是皮膚脫皮之後就會真正變黑，這樣的話之前所經歷過的所有痛苦似乎就都變得很值得了。美國人和歐洲人喜歡把自己變得黑一點。對於他們來說，白皮膚意味着 多愁和多病。而生機勃勃的古銅色肌膚則體現了健康、動感和 神祕。
It wasn't until later that I discovered not everybody was into bronze skin. I spent a good deal of my twenties traveling and living abroad in Asia in places like Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and of course, China. Just as many of my friends in Asia were amazed at how much was written about creating a tanned appearance in American fashion magazines, my American friends were baffled at how nearly every skincare product in Asia seemed to be dedicated to whitening. It doesn't matter which Asian country-porcelain skin embodies beauty, femininity, and sophistication.
我二十多歲的時候在亞洲生活旅遊過一陣，我去過日本、新加坡、泰國、中國臺灣，當然還有中國大陸。正如我那些亞洲的朋友們對美國的時尚雜誌上介紹的如何美黑感到詫異一樣，我的美國朋友也同樣對幾乎所有的亞洲美容產品都有美白功效這一點難以理解。對亞洲人來說，雪白的肌膚才代表美麗、溫 柔和神祕。
How do you account for this disparity in perspectives? Can we simply chalk it up to "cultural differences?" Or is there a more precise answer? As a makeup artist and an Asian American student of Asian Women's Studies, I would like to explore this with you.
我們要如何來解釋東西方這種不同的觀念呢？僅僅稱之爲"文化差異"嗎？還是有更深一層的答案呢？作爲一名化妝顧問和一個主修亞洲女性研究的亞裔美籍學生，我很樂意和大家一起探討這個問題。
Comparing the histories of the popularity of whitening and tanning shows that the latter is definitely the more recent phenomenon. The preference for pale skin dates way back to when agriculture and civilization first appeared. From a Darwinist perspective, some anthropologists believe that men were attracted to women with pale skin for reasons having to do with natural selection. It was easier to detect illness and marks of disease on a woman with pale skin as opposed to a woman with darker skin. This made paler-skinned women more ideal candidates to mate with and produce genetically healthy offspring. If you don't buy that idea, maybe you will find the social status explanation more plausible. Simply put, paler skin indicated a higher social standing and greater wealth. Instead of toiling out in the fields and doing hard labor under the sun, a pale complexion showed that one could afford to leave the labor to others and live comfortably in the home.
比較一下美白和美黑的歷史，我們不難看出，美黑這種現象出現得非常晚。人類對白皮膚的鐘愛要追溯到農業和人類社會文明產生伊始。根據達爾文的進化論觀點，許多人類學家相信，從自然選擇的某些角度出發，男性更容易被皮膚較白的女性所吸引。因爲如果要從皮膚上來觀察出這名女性是否身體健康的話，白皙的肯定比黝黑的更爲容易分辨。這就讓擁有白皙皮膚的女性成爲傳宗接代更理想的對象。如果你無法接受這種觀點，你就會發現在社會階層上的某些解釋站不住腳。因爲簡單說來，皮膚更白的人種往往擁有更高的社會地位和財富。相對於每天在土地裏太陽下辛勤勞作的人來說，白皮膚意味着可以舒舒服服待在家裏，遠離農業生產。
Up until the 20th century, American and European high fashion dictated that proper ladies be the color of porcelain, for it signified that they were from sufficiently wealthy families and did not have to work in the fields or factories and ruin their hands and feet. A tanned appearance was considered boorish and unsightly, and women took great pains to shelter themselves from the sun, wearing bonnets, wide-brim hats, and carrying parasols.
20世紀之前，美國和歐洲的時尚界都仍是認爲美麗時尚的女性應該皮膚嫩白，這代表她們來自十分富裕的家庭，遠離了農田和工廠的辛苦勞作，手腳都完美無瑕。而明顯經過日曬的膚色則代表了鄉土與俗氣。女性們爲了不被太陽曬到做出了極大的努力：戴着無邊帽和寬沿大帽、撐着遮陽傘。
In the 1920s, the perception of pale being beautiful took a drastic 180. Designer Coco Chanel first popularized the tan. The story goes that Chanel, while vacationing in Europe, developed a deep, bronze tan. Upon returning, she flaunted her new look at Paris fashion shows- and the world took notice. Since then, a tanned appearance has been equated with wealth and health; it has become a favorable indication of an individual's social status.
20世紀20年代，"一白遮百醜"的觀點遭遇到了180 度的大轉彎。著名設計師可可•香奈兒推廣了黝黑的膚色。據說她在歐洲度假的時被曬黑了。度假歸來之後，她就頂着全新的膚色出現在巴黎時裝秀上——整個世界爲之矚目。從那時起，黝黑的肌膚才被等同於財富和健康，成爲個人良好社會地位的體現。
Socio-economic occurrences during this time bolstered the tanned look as an ideal. Mass construction of railroads during the early part of the decade allowed more and more individuals to get to the beach affordably. Ever-shrinking bathing suits allowed more and more skin to be revealed, strengthening the connection between a tanned appearance and money and the ability to travel for leisure. In the 1930s, tanning received an even bigger boost as color films began to replace black and white films in Hollywood. Wanting to appear robust onscreen, actors began hanging out by the pool instead of the bar. The link between a tanned appearance to health and wealth was now firmly entrenched in the American mind.
而這個時期的社會經濟事件也有力地支持褐色是完美膚色。短短十餘年間，鐵路的大規模修築使得越來越多的人得以前往海灘度假。布料越來越少的泳裝讓女郎們可以露出更多肌膚，釋放更多性感。這樣，黝黑的皮膚就越發緊密地與休閒度假的財力和物力結合在了一起。三十年代，好萊塢的彩色影片取代黑白電影成爲銀幕主導，這同時強力地推動了古銅色的皮膚成爲審美領域的主流。爲了能在銀幕上表現出強悍和性感，影星們不再留連酒吧，而是來到湖畔曬起了太陽。如今，在美國人的眼中，古銅色的皮膚和健康、財富之間有着千絲萬縷的聯繫，他們的這種觀點如今仍然根深蒂固。
Go to any town in the United States and you are sure to spot a couple of tanning salons on any major street. Customers pay the salon to lie in a tanning bed for a few minutes, a couple times a week to achieve the desired bronze color. The tanning industry has become a massive moneymaker with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Analysts estimate that the industry generated approximately $5 billion in revenue this past year. There are approximately 25,000 professional indoor tanning salons and another 20,000 to 25,000 locations such as health clubs, spas, video stores, and beauty salons that have one or two tanning units in the United States alone.
去美國任意一個城市旅行，你都一定能在中心街區發現幾家或大或小的美黑沙龍。顧客們花上一筆錢，每個星期來沙龍幾次，躺在那兒曬上幾分鐘，就能得到渴望已久的古銅膚色。美黑如今已然成爲快速致富的產業，而且，該產業現在正蓬勃發展，完全沒有降溫的跡象。經分析家們預估，去年美黑產業已經給國家財政創造了約 50億美元收入。現在單是在美國，就有將近2萬5千個專業室內美黑沙龍，還有另外的 2萬到2萬5千個形形色色的健康俱樂部、療養院、錄像廳和美容沙龍也都提供着美黑的服務。
In striking contrast, one must consider how deeply embedded the notion of paleness being beautiful and refined is embedded in Chinese culture. Every historical beauty, certainly each one of the Four Great Beauties, was graced with porcelain-like skin. Royal Consort Yang Guifei might have been a bit chubby by our standards, but no one can deny that she was pale! In Louis Cha's (Jin Yong) martial arts novels, all important female characters, particularly the hero's main love interest, possess skin that is as white and pure as snow. Having a population that grew up with these stories and ideals of beauty, it is not hard to fathom why the whitening rage caught on like fire in China as soon as the right scientific advances were made and consumer products with bleaching properties were made available to the masses. In English, "tan" is a neutral word-possessing neither a negative nor positive connotation. It is simply a color. But whitening in the Chinese language retains a positive connotation, literally translating to "beautiful white." What a difference!
相應地，我們必須認識到，在中國文化中，以白爲美的觀念已經根深蒂固。歷代的典型美女，包括公認的"四大美人"，無一例外地擁有晶瑩如雪的肌膚。我們可能會覺得楊貴妃在現代人看來有點過於豐滿，但毫無疑問她膚若凝脂。在金庸的武俠小說中，大凡重要的女性角色，尤其是英雄們心目中的理想對象，都擁有如雪般晶瑩剔透的白皙膚色。光是從這些流行的文學作品中對完美女性的描繪，我們就不難了解爲什麼中國人會如此狂熱地追求美白了。尤其是當科學的美白方法運用到美白產品中後，美白變得更加大衆化，中國的美白狂潮更是愈演愈烈。在英語中，" tan"是個中性詞，不含褒義也不含貶義，就只是代表了褐色這種顏色。而"whitening"在中文中被翻譯成"美白"，有肯定的涵義，差異很明顯啊！
Just as some whitening ingredients have been discovered to be carcinogenic, there has been an increasing awareness of the dangers of tanning: rapid aging and most worrying, skin cancer. Thus, alternative means to achieve the bronze glow without exposing one's skin to harmful UVA and UVB rays have gained immense popularity. "Sunless tanning" has now entered the bronze-loving population. Products line store shelves to help people achieve that caramel color they so crave. Technology has improved since the days my friend Steph turned orange in the 90's- thank goodness! The end result is much more natural these days, although there are still many who overdo it and turn out orange. Almost all tanning salons offer sunless tanning where customers enter a shower-like chamber and a machine sprays the body. For a higher fee, a professional airbrushes the body, achieving a more precise application. They even use different tones to contour the body, creating the illusion of a more attractive figure.
正如有些美白產品的成分中含有致癌物質一樣，美黑也開始引起越來越多的危害——人們會變得早衰、焦躁，還容易患皮膚癌。這樣一來，一種不讓肌膚在有害的紫外線下曝曬就能獲得古銅色的皮膚的方法迅速流行起來。"不曬而黑"進入了美黑愛好者的視線。商店置物架上琳琅滿目的美黑產品就能幫助人們得到夢寐以求的小麥色。讓人慶幸的是，從九十年代我的朋友 Steph把自己變成橘黃色那天過後，美黑科技越來越發達了。最近推出的終極美黑產品日益接近純天然，當然還是有些人因爲使用過度而把自己弄成橘黃色。幾乎所有的美黑沙龍都提供"不曬而黑"服務，顧客們可以去一間浴室一樣的房間，在噴霧器噴出的美黑乳液中得到想要的膚色。這些沙龍還有更專業更精細的噴霧器可以細緻入微地給顧客全身均勻塗抹美黑乳液，當然這種服務收費會高一些。他們甚至還能用不同的色調來勾勒身體的線條，讓客人們的身材看起來充滿誘惑。
Today, most foundations contain a bit of SPF protection, and bronzers have become almost as much of a staple in the makeup bag as mascara. Bronzers come in many forms - powder, liquid and spray. Their purpose is to give the face a sun-kissed glow without overdoing it. As a makeup artist, bronzers have been a godsend. Many of my previous clients, tired of being pasty, came to me wanting to purchase a foundation many shades darker than their natural skin tone. As a responsible and decent human being, I could not let them make such a horrible mistake! A light swish of powder bronzer on the forehead, nose, cheekbones, and chin was all it took to achieve that sun-kissed glow they desired.
如今，絕大多數 粉底都有SPF這種基礎成分，能抵禦紫外線對皮膚的傷害，它們也成爲像眉筆一樣普及的日常必備化妝品了。 美黑產品有很多形態：粉狀、乳液或是噴霧。這些產品的目的在於讓你的臉看起來有陽光照射過的光芒，同時又不會真正曬傷皮膚。對作爲化妝師的我來說，美黑底產品的出現讓我如獲至寶。我以前的很多客人厭倦了她們蒼白的妝容，紛紛來找我，尋求 比她們自然皮膚色黑的粉底"出於對她們負責任的態度，我決不會讓她們去冒險嘗試一些有害的東西。只需要在前額、鼻頭、顴骨和下巴處撲上一點點 古銅色粉 就能得到夢寐以求的日曬效果。
Interestingly enough, I've also had experiences with the opposite situation - Chinese and Indians wanting to purchase a foundation several shades lighter than their natural skin tone. A beautiful and aristocratic Indian woman came by my counter and insisted on purchasing one of our foundations in the lightest shade. She had a beautiful caramel coloring, but the color she wanted to purchase was more suited for someone like Nicole Kidman. She was adamant in her decision and didn't take my advice. Sure enough, she came back a few weeks later, admitting the color made her look like she was wearing a mask. I have seen and cringed at many of the same situations here in China - women who are wearing foundation that makes them look gray and ashy.
有趣的是，我同樣也有過一次截然相反的經歷。中國人和印度人追求一種能讓自己的膚色看起來更加白皙的粉底。一位美麗高貴的印度女性來找我， 想買最白的粉底"。她的皮膚是健康美 麗的小麥色， 但是那粉底的顏色比較適合妮可·基德曼的那種皮膚。她美白的願望如此強烈，完全聽不進我的勸告， 還是賣了最白的粉底。當然，幾個星期她又回來了，沮喪地承認過於白皙的皮膚讓她看上去好像戴了一個面具。我在中國也見過很多這 樣的情況，那些塗上厚厚的美白粉底的女人們常常顯得蒼白而黯淡。
In the cosmetic world, there is a philosophy that advocates transcending societal expectations for beautiful skin color- be YOURSELF but better. Highlight and show off your features; never mask them.
在化妝品界，有一個超越社會對美麗肌膚顏色的期待的觀念，那就是更好的自己。要突出和渲染你的特色，絕不是掩蓋自己的臉。
I personally prefer to be a bit on the pale side, but that is purely a matter of personal preference - I like using bright colors in makeup and it shows up better against pale skin. I like the contrast between my pale skin and my dark eyes and dark hair. I use products with SPF protection and carry an umbrella when I can, but I never seek to go beyond something other than my natural color. Many Chinese women I have talked to prefer pale skin for themselves for much the same reasons as I do, but I hope that deep down that the societal issue of class and status is not the main catalyst. Everyone should do what works for them. There are Westerners who look far more attractive pale and Asians who should have some color. We should strive to be true to our natural appearance; if we use beauty products, it should be because we like the way we look and want to highlight or accentuate our unique features, not because we want to conform to lofty societal expectations. Beauty transcends continents, cultures, and history - it is more than skin deep. It originates from one's individuality.
我個人其實更喜歡皮膚白點兒，但那純屬個人的偏好——化妝的時候， 我喜歡用很鮮豔的眼影，腮紅，而白皮膚會讓顏色比較突出，比較燦爛 。我喜歡自己白皙的皮膚和黑色眼睛以及黑色頭髮對比後帶來的視覺衝擊力。我使用帶有SPF值的化妝品，出門的時候儘量帶着陽傘，但是我從來沒有試圖用什麼方法去背離我的自然膚色。我曾經和很多中國女性交談過，她們很多都希望擁有更白的皮膚，理由和我一樣。我希望的是，階級和階層的因素不要成爲衡量美醜的主要標準。每個人都應該選擇適合自己的 。 有一些西方人更白的話就更有魅力，而 有一些亞洲人膚色深些更爲漂亮。我們應該努力對自己誠實一點，如果我們非得用到某些美容產品的話，那我們一定要對自己滿意，只是希望用這些產品來突現自己的優點，強調自己與衆不同的魅力，而不是因爲我們要去遵從追求上流社會的期待。美麗超越國界，超越文化，也超越歷史——遠遠不止皮膚那麼表面——而是源自於每個人獨特的個性。
Don't get into the hype--just be yourself!
別太跟風。白不能遮百醜，黑也不能！所以，還是做自己吧！
Links
1 Halloween had long been over, and my junior high school classmate Steph looked as though she was trying to be the Great Pumpkin.
"Great Pumpkin"是萬聖節（ Halloween）裏的主角，也叫做Halloween Jack。在文章中，作者一是用南瓜（ pumpkin）的顏色來形容朋友的膚色；二是以"Great Pumpkin"這個大家耳熟能詳的虛構人物來強調朋友因膚色而在衆人中特別顯眼來開她的玩笑。
2 the winter blues
"blue"除了表示顏色之外，還有個意思是"憂愁、憂鬱"。" winter"在這裏是強調憂愁、憂傷的程度，同時也和前面的"paleness"相呼應，暗示皮膚過白給人的感覺非常陰鬱。
3 chalk it up
這是個固定的搭配，意思是"宣佈"。
4 took a drastic 180
"take a 180" 是個固定的搭配，意思是"態度、趨勢等發生了180的大轉變"。"drastic "在這裏是強調轉變的程度之大。
5 Don't get into the hype.
"hype"一般指的是過分誇張、通常帶有欺瞞大衆的性質的廣告。在文章中，作者是用這個詞語來指代美黑和美白的流行趨勢，並用這句話來警告大家不要盲目跟隨潮流。