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Originally Posted by Ustwo
My guess is being pale is a clue to sickness from WAY back, when the only reason you wouldn't be out in the sun is if you were to ill to be out and about.
In the days when you couldn't go from climate controlled house to car to office to car to office to house with only a few moments of sun exposure there was something wrong with you if you didn't spend time outdoors. People rarely lived long enough to worry about the cancer side of it.
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I agree there are likely cues to sickness "from way back" that humans are universally sensitive to, but tanning doesn't seem to be one of them. The posts below yours outline cross-cultural differences in the preference for tan which undermine an argument for an evolved (I'm guessing that is what you're suggesting) preference.
Some health cues that I do think are universal: open sores, extremely low BMI or extremely high BMI, high WHR in women.