As Americans, we may not see anything unusual about the way we speak, dress or react to certain trends. Being surrounded by like-minded people who appreciate the same things, follow the same customs and abide by the same principles, makes it all seem normal.
As it turns out, our friends across the pond might not feel the same. We might find a more casual attire or a good tan extremely attractive, but other nationalities might agree to disagree. On that note, here are 8 quirky things Americans consider attractive, but others don’t.
Extra tanned skin
The trend for whiteness might have died but there’s a new trend in town among Americans, Caucasian women in particular, to get as tanned as possible in order to become more attractive. According to Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, a New York City dermatologist, extra tanned skin has gained popularity in recent years although it “is not, nor has it ever been, a universally accepted ideal.”
Pale skin was once a sign of high status as opposed to tanned skin which was associated with outdoor labor. It all changed with Coco Chanel who popularized tanning, which soon translated into having the time and money to travel all over the world.
Americans nowadays resort to all sorts of practices to darken their complexion, our current Commander and Chief being one of them, from tanning sprays to the so-called tanning pills which release color additives in the body, changing the skin color from orange to brownish. While tanned skin is considered attractive in the United States, people in other parts of the world, like Korea or India, would go to extreme measures to look paler or “pinker in tone,” says Sarnoff.
