Human Skin Color

[Philosopher]

Isn't it all an opinion in the end anyway? Just because the scale has names, how do you objectively determine what color actually falls where in the scale? Olives are green, black, and dark brown. So who is to say what a subjectively olive skin color is? In reality Africans are more olive colored than anyone. What is light brown, or medium white?

Africans cannot be considered olive skinned. North Africans, however, can be.

I still don't quite understand the relevance of all this? If you want to post pictures of hot ladies, just do it no need for all the camouflage.

Settle down. No need to get excited. The pictures are meant to give a visual representation of human skin color types.

[Risto the Great]

Fuck me, I just found out I am slav skin coloured.

[slovenec zrinski]

Are u being ironic about that "french" beautycontestant? Pjevalcic sure sounds like a...croatian surname to me.

[Philosopher]

Are u being ironic about that "french" beautycontestant? Pjevalcic sure sounds like a...croatian surname to me.

This is what I wrote:

The first girl appears to be of Serbian/Croatian descent, but she is French, and a French beauty contestant winner.

[slovenec zrinski]

Lol.Sorry.Probably too early in the morning for me when I wrote that and read your post

[Philosopher]

Spitfire, in your travels in Greece, and Cyprus, and possibly other islands (maybe Rhodes, Karpathos, et al) how would you rate these people on this scale? Would you say there is a uniformity between these peoples? Would you say that there is disformity, which is to say, differences within populations (e.g. Athens), and differences between different regions (e.g. Athens and Cyprus)?

I have noticed that when non-Greeks characterize Greek people they often do so with terms of "dark features", including skin and hair, to the point where some have suggested that Greeks are not indo Europeans or have intermixed with Africans in the distant past. Some have even suggested Greeks are the darkest people in Europe.

I have my doubts.

In my experience, the Greeks I have met, cannot be painted with a single stroke. I have met light skinned Greeks with light hair and eyes, and light skinned Greeks with black hair.

What are your thoughts? Would you say the Western characterization about Greeks is accurate?

[spitfire]

How accurate can this be? If most westerners are blond with light complexion that would make greeks darker than them.
Africans? No way.
Cypriots tend to be darker but as you said you can't say it in a single stroke.

Dad went to S.Arabia for 5 years. He came back darker. I'm darker in the summer than in winter. But I do go to the sea a lot. Would that make me an african? It's the climate I think.

[Philosopher]

How accurate can this be? If most westerners are blond with light complexion that would make greeks darker than them.
Africans? No way.
Cypriots tend to be darker but as you said you can't say it in a single stroke.

Dad went to S.Arabia for 5 years. He came back darker. I'm darker in the summer than in winter. But I do go to the sea a lot. Would that make me an african? It's the climate I think.

I think that's about right. I know two Greek Cypriots. One man and one woman. The complexion of both is on the darker side, I would say on the III-IV range of the scale, but not more. The woman has what appears to be blonde hair (she is probably in her 50s, so I am sure she it colors it). However, from memory, I think her eyebrows are also blonde, so I am guessing this is about right. The man has white hair, but from speaking to him, I learned in his younger years he had dark brown hair.

There are many Macedonians on this forum and elsewhere who peddle this idea that Greeks are very dark, African like. I personally do not buy it.

[Risto the Great]

Northern Greece became "darker" when the former Turkish nationals arrived. This is where the darker bit comes from when talking to Aegean Macedonians.

[Gocka]

I know many Greek people and I can say that the more south you go in Greece the darker they get. Northern Greece excluding the Turkish settlers is noticeably lighter in features. African is a stretch but they are certainly more middle eastern looking the more south you go. Historically I remember the Spartans being compared to the Persians in complexion. So its not like this is a modern day question. Greece also gets hotter the more south you go, and that place a big part in complexion. Although I am pretty white I tan very well.

I still think this entire subject is retarded.

The Balkans is the genetic equivalent of Mandza. It is stupid to even get into this discussion, and difficult to not offend your own. If anyone thinks all Macedonians can be painted with one brush, well then they need to take a trip to their homeland and see for themselves. We are generally lighter skinned then Greeks but we have just as much variation in our own as they do so....

Northern Greece became "darker" when the former Turkish nationals arrived. This is where the darker bit comes from when talking to Aegean Macedonians.

[Philosopher]

I know many Greek people and I can say that the more south you go in Greece the darker they get. Northern Greece excluding the Turkish settlers is noticeably lighter in features. African is a stretch but they are certainly more middle eastern looking the more south you go. Historically I remember the Spartans being compared to the Persians in complexion. So its not like this is a modern day question. Greece also gets hotter the more south you go, and that place a big part in complexion. Although I am pretty white I tan very well.

Spitfire what is your impression of this information? Do the Greeks of the south look Middle Eastern?

[spitfire]

Spitfire what is your impression of this information? Do the Greeks of the south look Middle Eastern?

No, they look shorter.
How south? Crete? Perhaps. It is very difficult to say. And among other things this excludes the big cities for obvious reasons.

[Philosopher]

No, they look shorter.
How south? Crete? Perhaps. It is very difficult to say. And among other things this excludes the big cities for obvious reasons.

In my observations, Cretans do not look Middle Eastern at all. Cretans I have seen have brown hair and brown/green eyes. The Greek Cypriots I know also have greenish eyes. Both Cretans and Cypriots generally have a III or a IV in the scale, though some are lighter. I think Gocka is asking about mainland Greece, not the islands.

My general impression is that some Greeks, a small percentage, may look Middle Eastern, but most southern Greeks do not.

Also, to be fair, the only way to answer this question is if it ignores summer complexions, and only take into account winter complexions.

For example, Egyptians generally look dark regardless of the season. But Europeans generally do not, though there are exceptions in both instances of course.

[spitfire]

My general impression is that some Greeks, a small percentage, may look Middle Eastern, but most southern Greeks do not.

Also, to be fair, the only way to answer this question is if it ignores summer complexions, and only take into account winter complexions.

For example, Egyptians generally look dark regardless of the season. But Europeans generally do not, though there are exceptions in both instances of course.

That's my impression too. The complexion of Egyptians is very different than the greeks.
I remember that during my days at the athens international airport. You could see the difference in colour of passengers, egyptians heading to Cairo. Quite distinctive I should say.
On the other hand The French were quite light-skinned and usually had blue eyes.
And as you moved to northern countries this became a pattern.

[Philosopher]

I's the climate I think.

This is only partly true. An arguably greater factor is genetics. If you think about it, if you brought in an ethnic Dutch or Icelander into Arabia, their skin will not survive under the Arabian sun as well as an ethnic Greek. Their genes are such that their skin absorbs a greater amount of Vitamin D from very little sunlight. The melanin content of their skin is much much less than those of Africa.

The people of Cyprus have a much higher concentration of J2, a haplotype found commonly in the Levant. Cretans do too. This would explain why these people generally are darker than mainland Greeks.