What is Pretty Privilege?

and why do so many people hate it?

Pretty privilege is a problem. It is a form of privilege people get because they are considered good-looking to society’s definition of beauty. It is a form of privilege that is brought to attention because of social media. Social media has highlighted this straight to our faces.

In this day and age where followers mean something, having pretty privilege comes with an advantage. Think about it. People who are considered beautiful are more likely to go viral on the internet and gain more followers. Their beauty signals something in our heads to like, share and interact with their content. It may not be fair but it’s the way we are conditioned to view beauty.

According to society’s standards, men need to be at least six feet tall, with broad shoulders, and a six-pack. Women are told to be supermodel thin, with a slim waist, and curves. These are unrealistic body standards that people try to achieve every day.

Society tends to favor what it finds beautiful and when a person is considered physically attractive by others, that person may find themselves on the receiving end of lots of advantages in life.

“Our modern society didn’t invent a reverence for attractiveness, it is simply carrying on a thousand-year-old tradition.”

Biologically speaking, people are naturally drawn toward more attractive faces. It leads us to assume more positive qualities about a person based on their looks alone. Unfortunately, this is a bias not new to our society. People who are considered to be attractive may be shunned by others. Others will start comparing their looks to those belonging to the “prettiest girl in the room.”

The people who are subject to this kind of privilege either don’t know or wear it with a badge of honor. Some hate the attention, while others thrive with it. These types of advantages can come in different forms. It can be a financial advantage such as a promotion or free stuff. It can also be a societal advantage such as attracting rich people into your life or being surrounded by very successful people.

This form is of privilege is not talked about as much as the other forms of privilege. It has recently been highlighted on Tik Tok by various women who have spoken about their experience with pretty privilege.

Those who have never experienced this hate it. They hate the fact that they were not considered pretty enough to gain an advantage in life. They hate the fact that they don’t receive the same form of attention or gain any benefit. This can lead to jealousy or hatred towards those who receive the privilege. They may be kinder, more understanding, or even highly educated but it doesn’t matter because they are still not considered “pretty enough”.

Is this form is privilege dividing society? Yes, it is.

Is this form of privilege not fair? Yes, it is.

What can we do about it?

Society as a whole needs to change its view of beauty. For there to be an actual change on this topic, we all need to redefine beauty. Beauty is not only exterior. There is beauty within every one of us. It is up to us to change the direction of how we view beauty.

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