As the sun casts its last rays of summer and some people still show off their golden skin back at the office, here’s a brief history of sunbathing. Far from being a trivial activity, basking in the sun at your vacation spot is as much a social act as it is a status symbol. The practice, which has become socially acceptable in the West, has gone from having peasant connotations to becoming the golden myth of modernity.
” Tanning is a cultural invention of the 20th century,” recalls historian Pascal Ory in his seminal essay (L’invention du bronzage). Long associated with hard labor and social inferiority, tanning became a symbol of freedom, modernity, and leisure in the 20th century. From the sun gods of Egypt to the beaches of Saint-Tropez, from powdered aristocrats to Hollywood stars, the evolution of tanned skin illustrates a major cultural shift. Behind the apparent summer frivolity, it reveals social, political, and aesthetic issues, shedding light on our relationship with the body, power, and desire.
The sun, between divinity and danger in Antiquity
In ancient civilizations, the sun was not only a source of light, but first and foremost a deity. In Egypt, Ra—the Sun God—embodied vital power, and the pharaohs, depicted with golden skin, associated this luminous complexion with prosperity. This tan was not a deliberate choice, but a religious symbol.
Among the Greeks and Romans, the ideal remained paradoxical: gods such as Apollo were golden and radiant, but the elites valued fair skin, protected from the sun by veils or ointments. Historian Jean-Claude Bologne points out that, for Roman patricians, “a pale complexion signified idleness and availability for cultivated leisure, as opposed to the tan of slaves and soldiers.”
Click here to read the full article on Luxus Magazine
Featured photo : Unsplash
