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Skin Deep

Sep 20, 2017English, Female, Life&Food

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Preparation
CONSIDER

Do you worry about your skin?

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Transcript

Hollie Chalmers: So “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep”、

Elizabeth Ford-Diprose: And It‘s looking at um, like tanning and lightening of skin…

Hollie: Oh lightening of skin. Michael Jackson.

Elizabeth: So it’s literallypopular in current English to add emphasis, but is often used improperly: “My brain literally exploded with anger.” (0:09) about skin specifically, not just about make-up and stuff. So I mean have (Oh why) you, have you ever had a tan, like a proper tan?

Hollie: A proper- haha!

Elizabeth: No, I mean not like from the sun, a “machine” tan.

Hollie: A machine tan!

Elizabeth: A cyborg tan!

Hollie: No. No, the only time I tried self-tanning was with a tanning moisturizer but it made my knees and my ankles orange. (Haha!) I don’t trust myself.

Elizabeth: Beauty’s only skin deep. Um.

Hollie: I accept that I’m pale. Move on with life.

Elizabeth: That’s fair. I’ve never used a machine.

Hollie: I don’t see the idea of a machine- machine tanning.

Elizabeth: What are they called? Tanning booths? Something like that.

Hollie: I can’t remember.

Elizabeth: Bed! (Bed!) There we go. Tanning bed. Alright, yeah, no I’ve not used one, um.

Hollie: It just doesn’t seem healthy (I’m too poorpronounced, “POH” (0:51)) let alone, Well then how do they make their skin lighter, they inject it? or do they sleep on a “lighter” bed.

Elizabeth: I don’t know um. (A lightening bed) I suppose it’s like a cream? (Cream) Or a, (Cream?) Yeah (A cream?) That’s unusual they can do that.

Hollie: It would absorb it tho’ wouldn’t it, I don’t know.

Elizabeth: I suppose. I mean, the whole- I think there’s pigments in the skin that if they’re rearranged could change so, But, to be honest, Like I understand there’s a massive stigma right now about like- “White is beautiful, black isn’t”

Hollie: Well they do here. (quotation markswhen used in spoken English, conveys that the words spoken are not the speaker’s own ideas. (1:22)) Here in Japan white is beautiful. But compared to England tanning is more the thing.

Elizabeth: Oh yeah, olive-ya colloquial adjective made by adding “-y” to a noun or adjective (see “pastey” below) (1:29) skin is like (Yeah like) the ideal.

Hollie: Yeah you’re more like me.

Elizabeth: I’m more like a pink. (You’re olive) To be honest. Like I’m slightly medium-rare.

Hollie: I’d consider you olive-skinned. I wouldn’t say you’re- At the moment (Medium rare olives) you’re slightly red, becausepronounced, “KUZ” (1:41) you’ve been in the sun, but usually I’d say you’re more olive-skinned.

Elizabeth: Thank you. (Ha!) Um but um I actually read somewhere ages ago that that’s actually a problem in Japan, is that um the slightly darker- actually more olivey skinned people, aren’t as- when they’re put in magazines their skin’s lightened. (Well yeah) The same that- (Yeah yeah yeah) So I suppose it’s like, I don’t know. I don’t- (Do they probably) I mean personally I don’t see…

Hollie: They’ve been forced to think that darker skin’s bad, (Yeah) so they’re going topronounced, “GONNA” (2:06) want to lighten their skin.

Elizabeth: Yeah but I don’t I mean like, I think skin’s all fine to be honest.

Hollie: You can see your veins if you’re pasteya colloquial adjective made by adding “-y” to a noun (see “olive-y” above) (2:12). What’s the point?

Elizabeth: Unless you’re like I don’t know, like blue. Well that’s a bit dangerous. But like, dark skin- (Oh blue) One’s not more beautiful than the other. It depends on everything else on the body to be honest. (Ha ha) If like if like, as as well as the skin, like if you’ve got. If you’ve got, like really really lovely, really really pale porcelain skin or whatever but like you’re nose hits the floor.

Hollie: A massive honkinga slang word added for emphasis (2:37) nose!

Elizabeth: It’s just- I mean we’re talking about “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep” and I’m being really superficial.

Hollie: I was about to say, you’re being really horrible! Now someone with a big nose Is going to be worried that they’ve got a big nose!

Elizabeth: Being really super- I love people. OK let me change it. If you’ve got like really beautiful porcelain skin, but you’re an asshole. Like there we go. That’s crap. It’s what’s within (It’s what’s wi-) Because if you’re a horrible person it doesn’t matter whether you’re olive, or you’re medium rare It matters if like (Medium rare!) Medium rare!

Hollie: It’s personal like, becausepronounced, “KUZ” (3:06) obviously I’m I’m pale but I want to be more tanned because everything looks everything looks better when you’re tanned all you’re muscles seem to come out.

Elizabeth: So would you argue that the whole lightening thing- you’d actually rather go an opposite way.

Hollie: Yeah well I like BEING pale. Sometimes it’s nice to be a bit golden. (Um) But putting putting pigments like these ingredients in your- onto skin is not going topronounced, “GONNA” (3:28) be good.

Elizabeth: No it’s dangerous, it’s dangerousan example of repeating for emphasis. (3:30). (Very dangerous) It’s t’s a dangerous mentality to have in the future- because…

Hollie: As well. The mentality I think is very important…

Elizabeth: Low self-esteem and you- the whole validation thing comes back in you’re not going to feel good enough because, (Mm) you’ve not got like…

Hollie: You have confidence issues.

Elizabeth: Really really good skin, or the colour skin people want you to have, or whatever.

Hollie: Yeah definitely.

Consolidation
DISCUSSION

Which do you prefer, light or dark-coloured skin?

Do you use sunscreen often?

We don’t have any pointers for this conversation, but if you have a question, please ask in the ‘Comments’ below. We might use your question as the base for a future pointer.

VOA article

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

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Pixabay

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Speakers

Hollie Chalmers Image

Hollie Chalmers

English

Worthing, West Sussex County

Elizabeth Ford-Diprose Image

Elizabeth Ford-Diprose

English


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