Over the centuries people understood that hard work and long hours in the sun would age a body. Those who were well-to-do and had slaves or paid help to take care of mundane chores, aged far more gracefully. Women (and men) were rarely seen out of doors without a hat and quite often, gloves. In the south, where sun could be intense, it was common for women to carry a parasol. They knew that the sun could damage soft, ivory complexions. As skirts became shorter and clothing more risqué, women began to cast old inhibitions aside. With the advent of industrialization and more leisure time on their hands, they could go to the beach where more of their bodies were exposed to the sun.
I do not know at what point it became fashionable to sport a tanned body. It was not until the end of the 20th century that skin cancer began to be seen and it was realized that too much exposure to the sun could be dangerous. Men and women would spend many hours a week in the sun, in the vain (as in self-possessed) attempt to procure a tan. They were often smokers as well, which was prevalent during that period of time. In old age these people would often look like dried up oranges; their skin drawn into deep wrinkles with the feel of dried out leather. Farmers’ bodies were rarely exposed to the elements, although some would remove their shirts when it was extremely hot outside. They normally wore a hat, but this did not protect them from the sun and wind that left them with a “red neck”, giving rise to the term. The red face and neck of a cowboy, combined with dark skin below their short sleeves, is what we have come to know as a “farmer’s tan”. The hands of people who have had to consistently perform menial tasks, become gnarled with arthritis in their old age. Swollen, painful knuckles and leathery skin are the result of a lifetime of hard work, both in and out of doors.
I sometimes joke about my own farmer’s tan. Having spent many years as a gardener and not knowing about the aging effects of the sun until later in life, I am now well weathered. I would not; however, trade a single moment of my time spent outside under the sun and in the fresh air, for a life spent sitting at a desk or obsessing about my appearance. My weathered body only attests to the fact that I have been busy living a life of doing what I love – playing in the dirt.
