It is said that it was the French fashion designer Coco Chanel who made tanned skin modern.
Partly by using models with dark skin at fashion shows, partly by proudly showing off the burn after their sun holidays.
But she is far from the only factor behind our still persistent craze for sun-kissed skin.
We also have the bikini and the 1960s charter trend to thank for that.
- It was associated with being rich and healthy, says Yvonne Brandberg, professor at the Department of Oncology-Pathology at Karolinska Institutet.
Scandinavians are also, unsurprisingly, extra good at taking advantage of sunny days.
- The opportunity to sunbathe does not exist every day, so we throw ourselves out to get this desired color.
Cancer cases are increasing
Nowadays we know that it is not entirely healthy to be in the sun too much.
Skin cancer is the form of cancer that is increasing most in Sweden, to 90 percent it is due to sunbathing.
But our attitude towards sunbathing has not changed.
- If a friend says that we should go out and have a picnic and take the opportunity to sunbathe then, then it is so very positive in it.
You get to hang out, you look good and it weighs heavily compared to a hypothetical risk of getting cancer far in the future.
It is young people between the late teens and early 20s who sunbathe the most, but also the generation that went on the sun holidays, says Yvonne Brandberg.
- They are old now and it is not good to continue to be in the sun, because the risk of getting skin cancer increases the older you get.
Attitudes change slowly
But in some groups, some changes in attitudes towards the sun are still visible.
- For young women and men, it is trendy now to take care of their skin.
Many people know that you get wrinkled by the sun and this means that you avoid the sun.
You use skin creams with sunscreen built-in and you are afraid of the skin.
Eventually, that ideal may take over.
Hear Yvonne Brandberg explain why the love for sunbathing has existed since the 1940s in the clip above.