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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:
The next problem these nuts will have is Rickets from Vitamin D Deficiency. How about sitting under an umbrella?
As a black person who was brought up to believe, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, that it's not the "color of your skin, but, the content of your character", in my 60 years on earth, I've grown to be very weary of the skin color thing. We should all be protecting our skin from the damaging effects of the sun, but, anything other than that just points to idiotic prejudice and racism.
Not only do these "facekini" hoods look really STUPID, the area around the eyes, nose and mouth that are exposed are still going to tan, which should look pretty weird once you remove the hood. Plus, I would think wearing them would scare little kids. I know they would scare me if I was still a little kid.
I can absolutely see how this new "fashion trend" could peak the interest of the bank robbery, home invasion "crowd". If there is other life out there, sometimes I think they must be studying us and just shaking their heads and saying, "...what do you think is wrong with them???"
Interesting. Looks pretty uncomfortable to me but if I remeber my history China has always had a bit of a dangerous obsession with beauty. Breaking the feet of women to make them smaller? Killer cosmetics? I don't understand the security issue though. There's no point in geting upset about someone selling something you can make with a big sock and some sissors.
correction, " binding" of the feet which was only practiced by Hans, , which subsequently restricted the bone growth, because men found small feet attractive get your facts before commenting kk
White people wanna be darker and everyone else is trying to get lighter. Seems like everyone just wants what they dont have..
china: where boners go to die.
Uncle Henry...
Awesome!
If only Romney and Ryan would wear these! It certainly would be easier to vote for them....
tht's just freak'in weird - who are these people some pastey white harry potter / twilight fans -
I know a few people here in New York that would look good wearing those all the time!
This would make your job a lot tougher if your were a guard at a bank with a branch location on the beach...
Why do some people go to such lengths to appear as odd as can be?
Now you can take that ugly girl to the beach that you like for her personality with out your friends laughing.
It is also good for the dates that have that rockin' body with a monkey face attached, now you can put a bag over her head and still look into her eyes.
pale isn't superior, unless you're a vampire or deceased.
Neither is a tan.
The Chinese are f**king retarded
What is odd to me is how people pursue moments of beauty. They will walk around looking like a world class dork on a public beach so that they can have a brief moment of beauty later on.
The Chinese are f**king retarded
no you are for your comment
Whoa... can you imagine what would happen if someone dressed like that hit the beaches here in the U.S.? There would be a bloodbath for sure!
I see where they want to protect their skin from the damaging rays of the sun - I get that - but those 'masks' are a bit extreme, don't cha think?
How about they just take a hot tub dip at the house with a few friends and call it a night....but nooooo, they have to go to the beach and jump in fully clothed...so smart!
Give me a hot, tanned bod anytime. Pale = sickley.
So, the Chinese directly relate wealth and social status to the color of someone's skin...
...and it turns out that the Chinese are the most racist people on the planet.
the ariticle is misleading. the fair/white skin is for beauty NOT wealth. and if you look at 500yrs old chinese painting, all the female are fair/white. this is the culture for thousands years. has nothing to do with wealth.
I would use caution as they are probably made with banned toxic chemicals, colored with lead based paint!
That's smart - the sun is hostile now.
Can't wait for olympic women's beach volleyball look in '16.
Sounds like islam is moving into China.
These would make wonderful winter bacalavas!
Balaclavas, 10 seconds with Google gets you the correct spelling. Some people just do not care.
Sorry I had just woken up and switched my c and l.. who cares. I don't!
Hilariously ironic. The government presses people to smoke cigarettes in efforts to stabilize a staple in the economy, and the citizens are worried about skin cancer. I think that using oxygen masks to mitigate the unregulated, unfiltered burning of coal and other fossil fuels might be a better bet...
Did you read the article? They aren't worried about skin cancer. They don't want to tan.