If you got sun to get tan. Why did you want to be tan?
I know why I wanted to be tan. I thought I would be accepted and affirmed for my look. What about you?
I felt like it was the cool thing to do. Everyone laid out at the pool or the beach to achieve bronzed bodies. I was right there too. I wanted to be accepted and liked by my peers, and that’s what the in crowd was doing. It wasn’t illegal or immoral, and at the time I was not aware of the heath risks. 
I always got tan because the people around me felt everyone looked better with a tan. My mom would actually comment about how pale I was and say I needed some color. Jeez if I only knew then what I know now.
...Being pale was so frowned upon years ago. I remember having very similar conversations with family and friends. The pressure to be tan was real. We didn't know well enough then, but we can do better now for sure! Hang in there! We are with you on this journey! April, SkinCancer.net. Moderator
I surfed. I tanned, my hair got white blond, I made bikinis so skimpy they looked like the ones today! And that was years ago. I don’t think I wanted acceptance though. We basically lived on the beach most of the year. Life happened there by the ocean, in the sun and waves. Even my grandparents grew up on the beach (tho my grandma’s bathing suit covered much more of her body - with wool, no less). It wasn’t a want or a choice, tanning wasn’t even a goal, beach life just was.
Signed,
2 blocks downhill to waves
