…and then the aboriginal people discovered branding…
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People all over the world cover their heads as a sign of respect for God/protection of their souls.
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Yes, but Mary should be from the Middle East.
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Except when they take some or all their clothes off to show there is nothing between them and the gods.
Note the hijab is not worn when a woman makes the pilgrimage to Mecca.
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Agreed. But apparently, it’s only a problem when Muslim women do it, because it means they are oppressed, no matter what their reasons.
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Maybe they should culturally appropriate the nuns habits and wimples? 
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I only just noticed that post.
In this country, where sun in winter is rare, there are a lot of people from e.g. Pakistan or Northern India who go very pale in winter, paler than a “white” person who has spent a week skiing.
And in the ancient Greek world, aristocratic women are said to have covered up when out of doors to protect their skin, but also so that they would never be taken for a servant due to skin color. Penelope in the Odyssey must be in her late 30s but is still seen as highly desirable - aristocratic women would of course look young for many years longer than working women, and sun damage is part of this.
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That, and the “Middle Eastern people are brown” thing gets played a bit too heavily in the West. My fellow student looked like a walking Byzantine portrait.
On the other hand, I have Southern European relatives who look Middle Eastern. People have been moving around and interacting there for a very long time.
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The Roman Empire wasn’t advanced enough to have discovered racism.
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And in parts of India, though the Indian members of my family don’t care because, living in multicultural parts of the country, being a bit brown helps you fit in.
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I’ve seen Asian women wearing those welding hoods. It’s bizarre to me. I’d rather look a little brown than wear a welding hood while walking down the street.
There’s also a difference here in America between being worker tan and being beach tan. You can always tell a construction worker from a random person who spends all day at the beach just by the tan. It’s a tough, leathery tan versus a cultivated, smooth tan. Nobody is purposely emulating the construction worker tan.
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Plus, those tan from working outdoors have that “farmer tan” that ends where their regular clothing begins. Tanning bed or beach tans have very different tan lines.
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That floppy hat looks less ridiculous than the welding hood, but only slightly.
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By the end of summer I am very, very tanned above the collar, and from the elbows and knees down. Pasty white everywhere else.
When you work outdoors for a living, you don’t expose skin to the summer sun unless you have to.
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