Comments on: “Nude,” Racial Marginalization, and the Wedding Industry

By: Il privilegio di essere bianche, le mutande “color carne” e l’Orsa Daniza. – Un altro genere di comunicazione

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:02:40 +0000

[…] Il color carne, è il colore della pelle dei bianchi di questa nostra società occidentale. Raramente un prodotto “color carne” ha una variante per tutte le carni, che sia della lingerie, dei cerotti o un abito da sposa. […]

By: Amabil Crunt

Amabil Crunt — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:16:00 +0000

If they would say “white nude”, I guess it would be OK.

By: Vampie

Vampie — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 19:46:00 +0000

I think it’s at least partially because lately ‘nude’ became a description of a fashionable colour. Now everything which used to be beige or cream is ‘nude’, even in foreign languages the English word ‘nude’ is copied.

I noticed lately every seasonal colour gets a slightly unusual name, I guess to appear new and unique, except ‘nude’. Lately it was also ‘mint’ and now ‘burgundy’. I think there were also ‘tangerine’ and some others, though they turned out to be less popular, so you don’t see the around around so much.

I think it’s just one of fashion phenomenons, though unfortunately this name has a lot of unpleasant connotations.

By: moionfire

moionfire — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:25:00 +0000

I think they should just say “pale flesh/skin” or “pale nude” rather than “nude”. It would save the fashion/retail industry a lot of trouble and yet still get the point across.

By: Umlud

Umlud — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:53:00 +0000

First, I am aware that ‘camel’ is a type of beige. I’ve been living in the English speaking world long enough – and am facile enough with the language, have accumulated a broad vocabulary, and am sufficiently widely read in English to know that ‘camel’ refers to both an animal and a color.

Second, through, you appear to misunderstand the very basis of why I’m pointing out the double-standard of coloration. Therefore, I will explain it to you by asking if you are willing to extrapolate your comment to cover the point of the post? Would you say, for example, “You have completely missed the point that there is a particular shade of beige called ‘nude’. That is the name of the colour. We aren’t actually talking about White people here.”

Or are you saying, “Screw the fact that camels come in as wide an array of coloration as humans! The arbitrary color of ‘camel’ is the one true color! (Even though it isn’t actually a single color, but a range of shades of a color, much like ‘nude’ isn’t a single color but a range of shades.)”

You are either being inconsistent in your argumentation, or you are – in effect – saying that camels aren’t important. In addition, if you state that ‘camel is a particular shade of beige’, then you are failing in your argumentation, since it is not a particular shade, much like “nude” isn’t a particular shade. In which case your argumentation is faulty. Furthermore, even if you were to change your argumentation to state “a range of shades”, your argumentation isn’t representative of what camels actually are, and you therefore fail in the check on reality, one leg of which is the basis of the argumentation of why “nude = a shade of beige” is a bad argument. (True, camels aren’t a repressed human minority, but they also aren’t all beige. Go to your local zoo if you think I’m lying.)

By: Village Idiot

Village Idiot — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:24:00 +0000

Thanks to advances in polymer technology, the first truly “nude” clothing is now technically possible and will probably be for sale at some point. A flexible, gas-permeable translucent material with the feel of fabric can be sewn into clothing that allows one’s natural skin color to show through (and can be infused with a UV inhibitor to prevent sunburn). For legal reasons the parts covering anatomical features that the law requires covered can be “frosted” like the glass on some shower doors. I bet it’ll be a popular trend at some point and then “nude” will finally be a viable term for describing a piece of clothing.

By: Pearls in Vinegar

Pearls in Vinegar — Sun, 06 May 2012 07:37:00 +0000

You have completely missed the point that there is a particular shade of beige called ‘camel’. That is the name of the colour. We aren’t actually talking about animals here.

By: Heatherleila

Heatherleila — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:36:00 +0000

I think the best solution with band-aids is picking a colored or patterned kind, then you don´t even expect it to match skin. I thought of this when working at a school where most students were black and all the boxes of band-aids were that typical light fleshy color. And kids ask for band-aids all the time! Buying ones with cartoons would have been better all around.

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Well I am glad you understand now?!?

By: Village Idiot

Village Idiot — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:20:00 +0000

The models’ expressions are more appropriate for attending a funeral than a wedding. Or maybe for an arranged marriage; they look as happy as a friend of mine did when her parents told her they’d put a “wanted” ad in the paper back in Singapore for her listing her academic credentials in order to attract worthy potential husbands (that was 10 years ago, she’s still single and loving it).

By: Sheryl

Sheryl — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:58:00 +0000

I suspect pduggie has never stood in a cosmetics aisle and looked at the shelves of foundation. Anyone who has ever tried to match foundation to their skin tone knows just what a wide variety there are even within what we consider “white”.

By: Sheryl

Sheryl — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:55:00 +0000

Ivory, cream, taupe, ecru, beige, tan, champagne, peach, etc. We have plenty of words other than “nude”.

By: Sheryl

Sheryl — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:52:00 +0000

Prior to Victoria starting the tradition of white wedding dresses it was blue that was associated with purity and virginity as it’s the color associated with the Virgin Mary.

Should my boyfriend and I decide to get married I’d already decided i will not have a white wedding dress, I want to go with tophat and tails in ivory since I look terrible in pure white (and I’m not fond of dresses).

By: Sheryl

Sheryl — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:49:00 +0000

Absolutely! I’ve always hated “nude” as a color description for many reasons. Look at the examples: even while they are all a light color they still a variety of colors from what I’d call ivory to champagne to deep beige. It’s a bad descriptor all around.

By: Kettu

Kettu — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:43:00 +0000

Well, I never said they “stomped around calling themselves [americanos]”. I said they were perfectly happy to be identified by their continent of origin, as well as their country of origin, depending on context. Most Europeans I know are also perfectly happy to be called “European” when the situation arises. There are a large number of contexts where it is useful to be able to group the inhabitants of a continent together rather than naming every individual country. Furthermore, I have met many people from many countries and it is relatively rare that these people fly into a rage if you don’t know what country they’re from without being told. If you’ve been told and you then “insinuate” that they’re from a different country, well, that’s just bizarre behaviour on your part, but has very little to do with whether someone from, say, Ecuador is happy calling themselves “americano”.