How do you honestly feel about tanning?

Originally Posted by Andy

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If anything, I prefer farmer's tans because they ARE natural, if someone would fake a tan, they wouldn't fake a farmer's tan, so it just appears better all around.

Except clothes aren't natural and those are what cause farmer tans . . .

Yeah, but it's more likely that an even full-body won't be real. If someone has a farmer's tan, chances are they got it by being in the sun, not because they put on lotions or sat in booths.

Originally Posted by Andy

Yeah, but it's more likely that an even full-body won't be real. If someone has a farmer's tan, chances are they got it by being in the sun, not because they put on lotions or sat in booths.

There's also the idea that someone has a private outdoor area where they can tan naked.

But laying outside tanning isn't natural...

Originally Posted by Andy

But laying outside tanning isn't natural...

Naked person (natural) + sun (natural) = tan (not natural?)

Explain.

Who said natural is good anyway?

Assuming that something natural is automatically good or preferable to an unnatural alternative is one of the commonest and most frustrating fallacies out there.

Generally agreed, yes. But in the case of tanning, it appears unsightly when a tan is unnatural looking. I'm not assuming one's better than the other or anything, I hate tanning in general. But when a tan looks blatantly fake, it's unattractive.

Ringo, it's unnatural because humans aren't meant to sit in the sun and bake their skin to change it's color. The idea is that the skin adapts to extreme amounts of sunlight by producing melanin to absorb some of the more harmful amounts of radiation. We don't do that by sitting around in it with intent to do so.

i think its dum to mess up wat god gave u to begin wit but HEY!! he also gave us free will so do w/e

Originally Posted by Andy

Ringo, it's unnatural because humans aren't meant to sit in the sun and bake their skin to change it's color. The idea is that the skin adapts to extreme amounts of sunlight by producing melanin to absorb some of the more harmful amounts of radiation. We don't do that by sitting around in it with intent to do so.

Nor are we "supposed" to augment our strength through the use of weights and equipment.

Tanning and weight training are not that different, actually. Both are natural adaptations that humans have exploited to an unnatural degree. Both, in mainstream opinion, are considered attractive to a certain level--a level I would argue is beyond what would normally occur naturally. Taken too far, however, both can be considered unattractive.

As long as I'm on this topic, might as well mention the same thing is true for boob size. The ideal size for most men is certainly larger than average and probably larger than what is "natural" for most women. But, if you go too far--gross. Ditto for thinness.

The lesson is to aim for the middle, or perhaps just a little bit beyond that. ;-)

I think you hit the nail on the head Black Mamba.
Too much of something just gets gross. Though I still wouldn't do a tanning bed etc.

I'm cuban so I'm a natural at tanning, However I've never had a disgusting tan.

also tannning creams and tanning beds are for gingers.

Originally Posted by Black_Mamba

Nor are we "supposed" to augment our strength through the use of weights and equipment.

Tanning and weight training are not that different, actually. Both are natural adaptations that humans have exploited to an unnatural degree. Both, in mainstream opinion, are considered attractive to a certain level--a level I would argue is beyond what would normally occur naturally. Taken too far, however, both can be considered unattractive.

As long as I'm on this topic, might as well mention the same thing is true for boob size. The ideal size for most men is certainly larger than average and probably larger than what is "natural" for most women. But, if you go too far--gross. Ditto for thinness.

The lesson is to aim for the middle, or perhaps just a little bit beyond that. ;-)

I guess I'm one weird cookie then. Breasts on females never have done anything for me. They're just ... there, plain and simple.

And I guess to an extent, weight training (at least to me) is really only a simulation of what we would normally be doing in nature that society has eliminated the need for. I don't lift anymore, only about once a month, if that. I do dumbell curls and push ups every night to retain my strength. My job gives me a natural farmer's tan and keeps my muscles kind of active. And the result is pleasant enough. The tan prevents my skin from burning and the muscles retain enough strength to do more than I would need to.

I really kind of lost the point of this discussion a while back. I wholeheartedly agree that middle ground is desired, and that occasionally the above-average person steps in to catch attention every once in a while.