Pretty Privilege?

Yep, that's a thing

Pretty privilege works on the principle that people who are considered more attractive, based on societal beauty standards, have an upper hand in the world.

Pretty people get through queues quicker, are served faster, get treated better at restaurants, often I’ve noticed people in workplaces will be heard toward the ‘prettier’ person.

Many teenagers and young women are on Tik Tok speaking about their experience with pretty privilege. Some have received free drinks, Ubers, tickets, and food from being considered “pretty”. The list goes on. These are the same people that can blow up online and be seen by everyone. The algorithm would favor their content more as they succeed in getting the most amount of attention. Their good looks would allow them to become popular so quickly, their posts would be on your For You page. While this could be considered luck or just fun and games on the internet, others would call it a pretty privilege.

Another example of pretty privilege occurring in the workplace is the infamous Abercrombie & Fitch court case. The popular retail store had a “look policy,”. It was later mentioned the store’s “look policy” essentially meant that they only hired traditionally attractive applicants. This policy would deter anyone who felt they were not attractive to even bother applying. I also question who would shop at such a store with this kind of policy. In this day and age, they will be “canceled” for having such a policy.

It is easy to argue that pretty privilege does not actively harm anybody. However, I disagree. I think pretty privilege is incredibly harmful. For those who do not reap the benefits of pretty privilege but then see their “attractive” friends receive an advantage, it can be incredibly harmful to their self-esteem. They will start to question their self-worth, confidence, and value based on how they look. This can lead to jealousy and other self-destructive behavior. I can already see a lot of friendships ending because of this.

On top of sexism, racism, and ageism where we are measured based on the physical attractiveness spectrum, it can determine our quality of life, irrespective of our personality, skills, and qualifications.

It can also be incredibly damaging to those who do seemingly reap the benefits of good looks, as it promotes the popularity of the person. Popularity is based on looks and nothing else. Further, it may make them feel inferior to others, as they might think that people care more about how they look than who they are as a person. Or, in a workplace setting, people might view them as nothing more than a pretty face, rather than valuing them for their qualifications. This can be damaging to an induvial reputation if they are seen for only a pretty face. People are more complex than that and a person’s personality and behavior towards others are also important.

Can beauty bias be unlearned?

It’s no secret that it’s harder to unlearn something than it is to learn it, hence the saying ”old habits die hard”. However, it is doable. It would just mean the world’s perception of beauty would have to change.

We are already stepping in this direction with big brands modeling plus size girls and including women and men from diverse backgrounds in their campaigns.

You know that quote “Beauty comes from the inside”. I say what a load of rubbish. Pretty privilege kills this quote. Ultimately, this is a real problem, and our society as a whole needs to be held accountable. We would have to make widespread changes for the pretty privilege to be abolished. The first step is to acknowledge it.