Suntanning in 20th Century America

by Segrave, Kerry

• ISBN13: 9780786423941
• ISBN10: 0786423943
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-31
• Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc Pub

Summary

The suntan experienced a profound change in the last century. Considered a mark of the lower class for hundreds of years, tanning became a fad in the early 1920s and remains popular today. The tan, though, was much more thana matter of fashion,enjoying at first a boost from the medical establishment. Opinions ranging from hard science to quackery lauded the suntan as something of a panacea. Near the end of World War II, however, researchers increasingly warned against the hazards of overexposure to the sun, and a large new industry developed-sunscreen. Americans' current paradoxical obsession with the tan developed almost entirely from the conflicting rays of twentieth century thought. This history examines the twentieth century suntan as a social and scientific phenomenon. Beginning with the years 1900-1920, it debunks the myth that changing attitudes toward the tan sprang largely from the world of fashion. Initial pro-tanning medical hype, emerging negative opinions of sunbathing near the middle of the century, the development of sunscreens, the debate over sunscreen efficacy, and the sunless tan are all covered here. Numerous pictures demonstrate changing perceptions of the suntan, displaying advertisements for products that promoted, prevented or healed tans.

Author Biography

Kerry Segrave is the author of numerous works of social history and popular culture, including Endorsements in Advertising (2005), Women and Smoking in America, 1880û1950 (2005), Product Placement in Hollywood Films (2004), and Lie Detectors: A Social History (2004), among many other works exploring American culture. He lives in British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Coco Chanel had nothing to do with it : the years to 1920	p. 3
The sun as healer : 1890s-1945	p. 12
The tanning fashion takes hold : 1920-1945	p. 27
Sunlamps, new window glass, and industrial tanning : 1920-1945	p. 45
Early warnings : 1920-1945	p. 56
The sun as killer : 1946-2004	p. 61
Sunscreens : 1946-1979	p. 74
Suncreens : 1980-2004	p. 89
Sunscreens, a discouraging word : 1990-2004	p. 112
A fashion remains : 1946-1979	p. 125
A fashion fades : 1980-2004	p. 136
The no-sun suntan : 1946-2004	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 180
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

"This history examines the suntan as a social and scientific phenomenon. Initial pro-tanning medical hype, emerging negative opinions of sunbathing, the development of sunscreens, the debate over sunscreen efficacy, and the sunless tan are all covered. Numerous pictures demonstrate changing perceptions of the suntan in ads for products that promoted or prevented tans or healed burns."--BOOK JACKET.