The Tanning Effect

by Christel Boncan

While the Tanning Effect has permeated all across America, Steve Stoute’s theory has unknowingly made its way into the Filipino subconscious.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise when the speakers of the local neighborhood bar are blasting a throwback Hip Hop joint, nor should a group of teenagers who never grew up in the United States be judged when they throw up peace signs as they “bounce” and part ways.

This influential cultural shift, The Tanning Effect, is a burgeoning theory explored and further explained by Steve Stoute in his book, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created A Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy, that has not only permeated all across America, but has also seeped into the Filipino subconscious. According to Stoute, it is “a mental complexion of the next generation of consumers, the catalytic force of nature that went beyond musical boundaries and into the psyche of young America – blurring cultural and demographic lines so permanently that it laid the foundation for a transformation.”

Filipina supermodel and purveyor of Philippine verge culture, Sarah Meier-Albano dishes out her Take on Tanning here.