Has political correctness actually gone mad?

Dunno why DOTA is being so pedantic. A desire for lighter skin is clearly a "thing" for a significant amount of people in the subcontinent. In a way, the fact that it is an real issue is justified the fact that people are annoyed by this app. The fact that light skin is perceived as more attractive than dark skin is a legacy of generations of systemic racism.

EDIT: Although it's not just racism. Snobbery plays a part. Poor people work outdoors and the gentry wear makeup and stay out of the sun.
 
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Pogue Mahone said:
Dunno why DOTA is being so pedantic. A desire for lighter skin is clearly a "thing" for a significant amount of people in the subcontinent. In a way, the fact that it is an real issue is justified the fact that people are annoyed by this app. The fact that light skin is perceived as more attractive than dark skin is a legacy of generations of systemic racism.

EDIT: Although it's not just racism. Snobbery plays a part. Poor people work outdoors and the gentry wear makeup and stay out of the sun.
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Plus there's the 'Hey, look at me: I can develop Vitamin D!' angle.
 
Donovan_red7 said:
This whole concept of microaggressions has set the whole political correctness debate into chaos. Anything that doesn't happen as you want it to can be deemed a microaggression.

The cashier at the grocery doesn't greet you with a smile? Microaggression. Never mind it may simply be someone having a bad day, you can deem it some form of -ism. Crazy stuff in my opinion.
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The whole concept of micro aggression is just insane, it's basically saying that any minor thing is ill intent on the other persons behalf. The people who parrot this stuff are the kinds who think a innocuous compliment is sexism, racism or any other -ism.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Dunno why DOTA is being so pedantic.
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Because I think it's an offensive generalisation to describe more than half of the world as being 'obsessed' with skin lightening.

EDIT - I'm also grumpy.
 
I don't think the skin tone that people want is white. I would estimate it is somewhere around the Latino or mixed race Afro/Western European skin tone. Hence why a majority of young white people spend a lot of time and money darkening their skin.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
I don't think the skin tone that people want is white. I would estimate it is somewhere around the Latino or mixed race Afro/Western European skin tone. Hence why a majority of young white people spend a lot of time and money darkening their skin.
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Most countries in Latin America have their own “the lighter the better” hierarchy of skin-color. While I havn’t lived in Asia, I do know Japanese and Korean women who are scared going to the beach, because it could give them tan – and they are as pale as it gets. I also know that the skin-lighting products industry is fairly strong in the Middle East. So there seems to be demand for that as well. A fairly popular beauty standard in many of these countries is not really “beach-tan”, but snow-white (exaggeration). Just looking at some of the advertisement in these country makes that fairly clear.
 
PedroMendez said:
Most countries in Latin America have their own “the lighter the better” hierarchy of skin-color. While I havn’t lived in Asia, I do know Japanese and Korean women who are scared going to the beach, because it could give them tan – and they are as pale as it gets. I also know that the skin-lighting products industry is fairly strong in the Middle East. So there seems to be demand for that as well. A fairly popular beauty standard in many of these countries is not really “beach-tan”, but snow-white (exaggeration). Just looking at some of the advertisement in these country makes that fairly clear.
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Japanese people seem porcelain in skin tone anyway. How does the Western obsession with skin darkening fit in with it all? Is there really a narrative here that us pasty white people have to feel bad about?

I saw this the other day!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/glamour-model-biggest-boobs-europe-10217073
 
Classical Mechanic said:
I would estimate it is somewhere around the Latino or mixed race Afro/Western European skin tone. Hence why a majority of young white people spend a lot of time and money darkening their skin.
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Yeah. Tend to agree with this. I just googled and this skin tone strangely comes up as 'olive'.

PedroMendez said:
Most countries in Latin America have their own “the lighter the better” hierarchy of skin-color. While I havn’t lived in Asia, I do know Japanese and Korean women who are scared going to the beach, because it could give them tan – and they are as pale as it gets. I also know that the skin-lighting products industry is fairly strong in the Middle East. So there seems to be demand for that as well. A fairly popular beauty standard in many of these countries is not really “beach-tan”, but snow-white (exaggeration). Just looking at some of the advertisement in these country makes that fairly clear.
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South (India, Pak, Middle East etc) Asians they prefer to have lighter shades of brown, but not exactly the paleness that the Far East (China, Japan, Korea etc) Asians prefer. When I was in China, I knew a girl who'd wear a hat at night claiming she gets moon-burn's.
 
Classical Mechanic said:
Japanese people seem porcelain in skin tone anyway. How does the Western obsession with skin darkening fit in with it all? Is there really a narrative here that us pasty white people have to feel bad about?

I saw this the other day!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/glamour-model-biggest-boobs-europe-10217073
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Imo, Western beauty standards changed fairly recently towards a darker skin tone (at some point during the last 100 years). Without knowing anything about it, my guess is that it was made popular by a (Hollywood) celebrity upper-class, that fancied "jetting around the world". So maybe they could show their cosmopolitan character and wealth by being tanned. That thought could be utter bollocks, so don't quote me on it.

I guess there is at least some link between western colonial heritage and a certain obsession with light skin. E.g.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanqueamiento

That doesn't mean, that we have to feel bad about that today. People have agency.

edit: like Edgar Alllen Pillow mentioned: and obsession with extremely pale tan might be specific to certain far eastern societies, while other countries have their own regional ideas. Even in Latin America the perception changed even during my life-time and a mild tan is seen as favourable (compared to being pale).
 
DiseaseOfTheAge said:
No but I've got friends who grew up in India who I've discussed it with.
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:lol:

Ok. I've lived in two of those countries and been to all of them plenty of times.

It's not a racism thing if that's what's getting you worked up. A tan = being a peasant working a menial outdoor job.
 
11101 said:
:lol:

Ok. I've lived in two of those countries and been to all of them plenty of times.

It's not a racism thing if that's what's getting you worked up. A tan = being a peasant working a menial outdoor job.
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As I said, it's the ridiculous exaggeration you made. Hence why you're the only one I'm arguing with.
 
11101 said:
Everyone here who has you know, actually been to any of those places, is telling you it's true.
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They're telling me there is a significant amount of it. Which I'm quite aware of. They're not repeating the nonsense words you said that I'm moaning about.

EDIT - I'm boring myself, and I'm sure others, here. It annoyed me. I'll go shout at a seagull or something more productive than repeating myself here.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Dunno why DOTA is being so pedantic. A desire for lighter skin is clearly a "thing" for a significant amount of people in the subcontinent. In a way, the fact that it is an real issue is justified the fact that people are annoyed by this app. The fact that light skin is perceived as more attractive than dark skin is a legacy of generations of systemic racism.

EDIT: Although it's not just racism. Snobbery plays a part. Poor people work outdoors and the gentry wear makeup and stay out of the sun.
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The latter applied in Europe at any rate. In Elizabethan times the very wealthy painted their skin white to show they didn't have to work outdoors, racism wouldn't have come into it.
 
712 said:
The latter applied in Europe at any rate. In Elizabethan times the very wealthy painted their skin white to show they didn't have to work outdoors, racism wouldn't have come into it.
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Then, in the UK, we switched to wanting a tan to show we could afford holidays abroad.
 
712 said:
The latter applied in Europe at any rate. In Elizabethan times the very wealthy painted their skin white to show they didn't have to work outdoors, racism wouldn't have come into it.
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Same in Asia. A lot of people grow horrible long fingernails too for a similar reason, to show you don't work a manual job. Racism doesn't come into it.
 
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-39742670

In a series of tweets, the university replied: "We made a mistake. Our newsletter was too brief to deal adequately and sensibly with the issue.

"We are sorry that we took no account of other reasons for difference in eye contact and social interaction, including disability.

"Oxford deeply values and works hard to support students and staff with disabilities, including those with autism or social anxiety disorder."
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PC principle would be proud of them. :lol:
 
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Mrs Smoker said:
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I wish a company was able to come and out say "feck you, you shower of bastards stop being dickheads".

This fat acceptance thing is going way too far. I don't agree with actually shaming people but there's nothing wrong with pointing out it's unhealthy, which it is.
 
Snowbear said:
I wish a company was able to come and out say "feck you, you shower of bastards stop being dickheads".

This fat acceptance thing is going way too far. I don't agree with actually shaming people but there's nothing wrong with pointing out it's unhealthy, which it is.
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Beth Ditto being hailed as a positive role model because she was proud of her body was a watershed moment. You're morbidly obese and putting huge stress on your internal organs but yeah, own that shit.
 
No meaningful defense... unreal.

Sad state of affairs when big companies are getting bullied online by fat fruitcakes.
 
712 said:
I for one will never forget Beth Ditto.

Whoever she is or was.
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Sometimes I wish Google was never invented! Ewww. Goes without saying healthy isn't just about weight though, you see these fat pills and 'juice diets' and that's really not good for you yet those should be shamed more in public, they're harmful to people because they're only quick fixes and will not last because pills or juices are not a long term diet plan, so once they're off them they go straight back to their normal diet! There needs to be a widespread plan to show people what calories mean and how to achieve a balanced diet so you don't get fat/too skinny and or lose weight too rapidly.
 
To be fair I don't think it's helpful to personally attack people and shame them for being fat, rarely does it seem to actually motivate anyone.

But this lush post wasn't really targeted at people, it was generic actual information which has been proven over and over again.

I have a crew on my Facebook that operate in some sort of echo chamber encouraging each other, saying BMI doesn't matter and saying their doctors say it's ok. Sure BMI doesn't matter but when you're 5' and 100kg it sure as shit does and I'm sure your doctor isn't just ignoring it when you see them.
 
I kind of agree with the whole 'PC gone mad' ridiculousness where you can't say anything for fear of offending people.

But at the same time I do get the irony of the fact that those who most routinely express that view seem themselves to be one of the most perpetually offended group of society. I've experienced more people offended at apparent political correctness than I have come across people offended by the lack of it. People also seem to like political correctness if they benefit from it.

Rarely have I ever met someone who proudly boasts to "call a spade a spade" who seemed like they'd react kindly if someone greeted them by saying "Oi, cnut with the big nose...". But they're fine for others to be objected to such bluntness. 'PC gone mad' has really come to mean 'I'm offended by so many people being offended', without really acknowledging the ridiculousness of that position.

I think some of the arguments made are valid but I'm not sure the whole 'angry white man, offended by everything' lobby that's really taken the mantle on this, helps.
 
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Uh, why wouldn't the company apologise? They still need fatties to buy whatever they're selling. Especially a company which sell products to make people look less ugly.
 
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