Sookie Stackhouse and other vices

National Health Blog Post Month Day 13: What’s your favorite book and how can you tie it to your health or life? 

 

Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse

Since HBO's True Blood is dead and gone until next summer, I decided to check out the books from whence the TV show came. The first book, I thought, was awful. The second one? Not impressed. The third one? Eh, not bad. Now, I'm on book ten and I'm certifiably obsessed.  I love reading about my favorite characters (namely, Eric Northman)--but with all kinds of crazy plot twists we haven't seen on TV. Spoiler alert: Sookie (protagonist, telepath, object of everyone's affection) dates a "weretiger" in book seven. Weird, I know.

Much as I love the books, I'm genuinely surprised by how much Sookie talks about tanning beds throughout the series. Of all things! Naturally, I'm more sensitive than the average person when it comes to tanning talk, but really, Sookie? Really?!

Here are some examples. Let at me put my college lit major to use:

• "I took a deep breath, turned to the mirror, and slapped on some makeup. My tan wasn't great this far into the cold season; but I still had a nice glow, thanks to the tanning bed at Bon Temps Video Rental." - Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 3)
• "His companion's face might have been sculpted from marble. Had the woman never heard of a tanning bed?" - Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5)
• "I enjoyed lying in the sun in a little bikini, timing myself carefully so I didn't burn. I loved the smell of coconut oil. I took pleasure in shaving my legs and removing most of my other body hair so I'd look smooth as a baby's bottom. And I don't want to hear any lectures about how bad tanning is for you. That's my vice. Everybody gets one." - Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 5)
• "Every year I thought of all the reasons I shouldn't lie out in the sun. Every year I added up my virtues: I didn't drink, I didn't smoke, and I very seldom had sex, though I was willing to change that. But I loved my sun, and it was bright in the sky today. Sooner or later I'd pay for it, but it remained my weakness. I wondered if maybe my fairy blood would give me a pass on the possibility of skin cancer. Nope: my aunt Linda had died of cancer, and she'd had more fairy blood than I had. Well... dammit." -Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 9)

One thing I find particularly interesting is that over the course of the series, Sookie's tone evolves. It goes from "I use tanning beds and everyone else should, too" to "stop giving me a hard time for tanning" to "I hope I don't get skin cancer from tanning so much." I suppose, from a literary standpoint, Sookie's bronze skin makes her a good foil to her paler than pale vampire suitors. But when something like suntanning makes its way into popular chick lit, it's indicative that tanning has become ubiquitous in American culture.

A few of my favorite vices that Sookie might try as a tanning substitute:

• Pinterest
• Weekly manicures
• ABC's Revenge
• Cheese
• Vanilla lattes
• Cheesy vampire novels :)

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This post was inspired by the Day 13 prompt for National Health Blog Post Month.
View posts by other participants.

Ladies of The Bachelor: Don't forget your sunscreen

Bachelor contestant Jenna's biggest faux pas was her
unnaturally orange skin. Bursting into tears six times an
episode was a close second. (Image: TV Guide)

It's Monday night and I'm watching The Bachelor. Embarrassing, I know, but I suppose there are worse guilty pleasures to indulge in. Gambling, smoking, or tanning--just to name a few.

Confession: In my high school yearbook, I was voted "Most Likely to be on a Reality Dating Show." Over the years, especially when I've been single, I've wondered what it would be like to be on, say, The Bachelor (shush, you know you've thought about it, too!) Enough though I'd probably be kicked off by the end of the first rose ceremony, I've thought about all the primping it would require to try and seduce a guy on primetime TV. You'd need formal gowns, bathing suits, and a suitcase full of beauty products. You'd probably get a new haircut before the show started taping, hit the elliptical, and give yourself a little color at the tanning salon.

This Bachelor contestant
could also cut back on the
fake n' bake. (Image: ABC)

A few years ago, if the producers of The Bachelor had called me and said "we want you on our show!" the first thing I would have done was drive to Palm Beach Tan. Chronically insecure about my appearance, tanning was one of the easiest ways to transform myself from an awkward, shy girl into a sizzling, sexy woman. In the back of my mind, there was always a lingering fear that my frequent UV exposure would cause wrinkles or cancer, but when you're 17 and the most devastating thing you can imagine is being rejected by a cute lacrosse player, tanning feels like a viable option. If I wanted a guy to like me, I felt like I had to bleach all the pigment out of my hair and become a slave to UV rays. It sounds insanely irrational when I say it out loud, but take a look at this season's Bachelor contestants.

Last month, when the show premiered, one of the first things I noticed was how unnaturally tan many of Ben's potential lady friends looked. Immediately, I tweeted: "Way too much fake n bake on the #bachelor" Seconds later, a follower of mine, Minta Daniel, replied: "Everyone looked like they dove into a bag of Cheetos." I couldn't help but chuckle. In an attempt to make themselves look beautiful and more desirable to Ben, these young women (if they do choose to UV tan) are increasing their risk for skin cancer and making fools of themselves on national television--in more ways than one. Yes, there was a time in my life when I may have watched The Bachelor and thought to myself, "Those girls are so pretty. I wish I looked more like them." But this time around? Not so much.

VIP cocktail waitress
Blakely's look screams
"unnatural." (Image: ABC)

When I was diagnosed with melanoma at age 23, even when I was sick with guilt that my negligent behavior had caused my cancer, I would still think to myself, almost instinctively: "How am I never supposed to tan again? What will I do for my wedding pictures if I ever get married?!" It's taken years to change my knee-jerk reaction from "tan is pretty" to "pale is pretty." For the first time, watching The Bachelor this season, I think I'm actually starting to believe it when I say all women should embrace their natural beauty. Tan skin, which was once the ideal, just doesn't do it for me anymore.

Now that the ladies are in Belize, I just hope they remembered to bring their SPF...