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AFP - Getty Images
Chinese beachgoers wear body suits and protective head masks, dubbed "facekinis," on a crowded public beach in Qingdao, on Aug. 16.
BEIJING – In the West, getting a tan is one of the main reasons for going to the beach.
But in China, some are going to extraordinary lengths to avoid getting a bit of sun with a new item of beachwear – dubbed the Facekini – causing something of a stir in the coastal tourist city of Qingdao, Shandong Province.
The masks completely cover the swimmers' heads, revealing only their eyes, noses, and mouths.
The styles and colors of the masks suggest a huge happy beach party attended by some lesser superheroes, Mexican wrestlers and perhaps a few bank robbers is underway. In fact, government officials have become concerned that the masks could be used to rob banks, according to a report in The New York Times.
"These have been extremely popular," Zaizaibao (仔仔寶), an online seller from Henan on shopping Internet site taobao.com, said.
Another online store sold 542 masks, which come in different colors and patterns, in just 30 days. "We are already out of the pink ones.... All of them sell well. Orange is the most effective in protecting people from sea creatures."
AFP - Getty Images
Users say the face masks are useful in protecting against insects and jellyfish.
The masks are an outward expression of a Chinese understanding of beauty in terms of skin color.
"I myself don't mind getting tanned, but I can see why pale skin is attractive," Alina Zhao, a college student in the U.S. who grew up in Zhejiang, China, said.
"It definitely has to do with the history of China, which is largely an agricultural society,” she added. “Getting tanned means you work outside in the fields a lot, so skin color is like an indicator of your social status. The fairer you are, the wealthier or more respected you seem."
Umbrellas on a sunny day
In fact, Facekini is only one out of many attempts by Chinese people to stay fair. The number of umbrellas to be seen in Chinese cities on a hot, sunny day might appear bizarre to many non-Chinese people.
"I first became aware of the phenomenon when I lived in Taiwan for the summer," Simone Cote, from Vermont and currently working in Beijing, said. "I constantly saw that women covered themselves when they went out. They wore pants often, and yes, umbrellas everywhere."
Cote was asked "Why is your skin so dark?" by her host mother in Taiwan.
Within this underlying concept of what is beautiful, the Facekini was perhaps a logical development.
A user of the mask commented in Chinese on taobao.com that "this item is very effective in keeping the UV [ultra-violet light] out, and it's very comfortable. With this, you can do whatever you want on a beach, with no worries of getting burned or tanned. It's really recommended."
Another user, Tongchao, seems to have debated between the benefit of not getting tanned and the possibility of getting laughed at in this mask. "Okay. I've become the focused again, but this item is really useful. It's actually not stuffy at all. I really like it!" Looks like he or she has made a choice – but not an easy one.
When asked if she would ever wear one, Alina gave her answer without a second thought.
"Of course no! I was never into sunscreen – I'll never get this fair anyway, so why bother? I would rather enjoy the sun."
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Leave a Comment:
If you're really that hung up about sun exposure why the hell are you going to the beach in the first place? Why do I get the feeling that these people are showing off for attention more than anything else.
westerner goto beach to get a tanned. asian goto beach for the water & other activities. oh well not like you can understand other cultures value anyway
Here in CA, we go to the beach for lots of reasons other than tanning. Volleyball, wall sports, space to hang out with friends, playing with your dog.. whatever. If you cannot conceive of anything to do on a beach other than intentionally exposing yourself to skin cancer, you lead a very blinkered existence.
Most of them look like 2 BAGGERS anyways!!!!
One good thing... more fashionable bank robbers.
Mmmmm, pretty! (Sarcasm)
I think they're great...all the chinese should wear them.
Hezbollah has placed an order for 100,000 of these masks in assorted colors for use on the beaches of Lebanon. It won't be long before they will become popular in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well.
It's the end of the world as we know it CHINAMEN wearing masks on the beach??? what's next...The dead rising from the grave! Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria
racist! to your chinamen comment, it would technically be china-women in this case
@Neutralo
Watch Ghostbusters. Then come back to this thread. Then you'll appreciate the joke.
A bit creepy looking!
Another thought...SPF 50.
Sure, slather yourself with chemicals and then get in the water so that those chemicals can destroy the marine life. Excellent solution. More concerning is both groups (you and your sunscreen, them and their masks) are headed for serious vitamin D deficiency (oh, and by the way, vitamin D has a protective effect from (guess what?) the sun). Sunscreen is the latest in a long line of scams brought to you by big chemical to slowly kill you while making them money. Enjoy.
Enough- Enough, already! (A little tightly wound this morning?) I would still choose SPF 50 over wearing a creepy looking facekini. I read in your posting that you do not support wearing sunscreen. I'm curious, what method of skin protection do you support for avoiding skin cancer while enjoying the beach? Surely, you're not taking us back to the days when women, such as Queen Elizabeth I, ingested arsenic to keep their skin white?
I have a healthy diet and get sufficient vitamin D from the sun so I don't need external sunscreen. Thanks for asking.
Enough- I, too, have a healthy diet and get sufficient vitamins, but if you read my question, you'll see I was asking what you do for protection from the sun's harmful rays- not about what you eat or the amount of vitamin D you get. I use sunscreen to avoid sunburn and blistering, which is extremely unhealthy, not to mention painful. So... what do you use to avoid sunburn?
I don't burn anymore. Apparently if you get enough sun regularly, you don't burn when you are exposed more than normal (which shouldn't have been a surprise since I never burned when I was a child either and spent all day at the community pool). My skin seems to have no problem handling whatever sun exposure it gets without reddening/burning/blistering. And I am outside a lot, gardening, camping, fishing, kayaking. Since this wasn't the case last year, I assume that changing my diet (no sugar or grains, lots of Omega 3's) may have had some impact on it, but ensuring I get at least 30 minutes of sun EVERY day for vitamin D production may have more to do with it.
in Asia where child exploitation is regular, and child sex trade is flourishing I think that that alone tells a story of why they wish to walk around with their faces covered, remember the little girl that got hit by the truck, and left in the street to get hit again, she died and these people don't care, about life,
what? that's so random lol
And we owe these people money? God help us !
Here is my theory when it was put to me sometime ago.
A suntan is used to indicate that someone has been soaking the sun on the beach. It's a sign of one's upward mobillity in that you can afford a vacation somewhere away from your hometown when everyone around you is wrapped up in many layers of clothing to keep warm.
In China and a few other Asian countries, pale skin is a sign of wealth in that one hardly does anything under the sun as manual labourer hence the skin gets 'darker'.
In short, it fundamentally comes from one's desire to show off one's wealth. Only in different skin colours.
It's subtle and not universal.
When I was in China as an American expat, I remember going to a museum on Shanghai where there was an exhibit that explained the design of ancient female Chinese portraits and figurines - skin is almost portrayed as ivory white. This bias against red-necks has been going on for millenia and is not some passing fad.. it's a deeply engrained aesthetic standard.
Is the American obsession with being rail thin any worse?
Interested...
I disagree...you can get a tan from mowing the lawn...people with money hire someone to do that for them...there are many people who just like being outside...you don't have to go to St. Bart's to get a tan.
@rock n roller, you do if it is January and live in Chicago (which was interested's point, being tan while everyone around you is bundled up in coats and scarves). Or at least you did before the myriad of tanning salons popped up. In that situation it is a subtle indicator that you could afford to be somewhere balmy while they were stuck shoveling snow.
China needs to go away and the world will be much better.
That's a stupid thing to say.
@ t1bu123, no you need to go away
I just looked at a few of tibuf123's comments on some other threads. He's either a hardcore troll or is about as recist as they come.
I've added him to my Ignore list.
I don't care if their skin was white gold, they're still a bunch of truly fugly people and the men never fully "develop" either.
...
OSHA should issue regulations making this attire mandatory on all U.S. beaches.
...
No need.. we have SPF 100+ sunscreen....
Of course, this could be a spin-off from all those 50's-60's sci-fi movies...we could call this "The Creatures from the Yellow Lagoon"...I'm just sayin'.
Oh God! Pussy Riot has infiltrated China!
...
PC ism would dictate the term to be feline disturbance.
...
...
The Chinese all see mto aspire to be Muslim terrorists. They have the look down, but forgot the belt.
They look ridiculous. I can understand the full body suit but just wear 50+ SPF on your face. They don't look in a mirror and realize how preposterous they look?
Blame the Blue Man Group. They started it.
The movie Kick-Ass comes to mind with these mask.
Why the hell do they go to the beach in the first place? This is plain stupid. The masks look ridiculous.
I mask the flavor of their moo goo gai pan with a pale ale & a shot of soy sauce.
I'm sure they think we're just as crazy jumping onto a tanning bed. No difference, just different sides. One thinks tan is beautiful and the other thinks fair skin is beautiful. No one is really right, to all its own. They may look goofy, but protecting themselves from the sun is giving them less of a chance of skin cancer and they will look younger. Here, people tan, then they get wrinkles, they they get surgery to get rid of wrinkles. Who's the goofy one?
@Madmel
I want you to lay down & tickle the shjt out of yourself... you are way too serious about this.
BTW... I currently have a sun lamp in my pants.
I like both colors dark and light people.
People have the right to be crazy in China too.
I think if this got started in America the Mask would have someone elses face like,
Lucy Liu
Marilyn Monroe
Elvis Presley
Barack Obama
If people in China want to have light skin god bless.
Who knows perhaps the Sea creatures are bad there. It is ashamed that I do not think there will be any
String Bikinis.
melanoma from sun exposure.. the suits look just as good as someone with heavy layers of sunscreen.
I guess the lack of beauty is in the eye of the beholder.