Lived in SE Asia fora few years and my understanding is that tan skin = outdoor labor = lower caste.

My spouse is asian and I'm N Euro - I would kill to have skin that just tans no matter how much sun you get. I think I've seen her get burns twice in over a decade and we do a lot of beach time.

The West used to have the same association. Now it's reversed, only people with lots of leisure time get to have a tan.