Image: Christopher Anderson/Magnum/Agen
Our author tans quickly, which causes envy. She doesn’t know why her skin reacts this way. She tries to find answers with a genetic test and talks to a dermatologist. A search for clues.
When I think about it, I can’t even say which sentence I’ll be greeted with most often from mid-May. Is it “Have you been on vacation?”, “Woah, are you tanned” or – if it’s my godmother – “Didn’t you wash yourself again?”? In addition, the finger pointing to my legs. Almost no one wants to know how I’m doing, what my studies are doing. Much more interesting is: How the hell did she get so brown?
First things first: There is no such thing as a healthy tan. Tanning is a healthy body response, but it’s not healthy. Never. Point. But she is considered beautiful and enviable. Like it’s a talent or hard work that you’ve invested in your complexion and then be admired for. Which makes me more ashamed; after all, I’m not doing anything. I didn’t have to brood, strain, or perform anything to get my tan legs.