30 People Are Sharing The Ugly Side Of “Pretty Privilege”

u/ZeuslovesHer said they came up with the idea for the post while scrolling through social media. "I saw people on Instagram talking about and being angry at someone beautiful, saying they get everything easy in life because they look good," the Redditor told Bored Panda.

After going through the comments, u/ZeuslovesHer learned that "pretty privilege happens everywhere, in all aspects of life, including the workplace and casual social interaction."

"[If you're at its receiving end], I think it can be useful in any circumstance. To get people to be more bendable to your needs, to help you more, to be more friendly, more understanding, more empathetic, etc."

According to scientists, those who meet universal beauty standards often experience social advantages and better treatment by those who perceive them as attractive. These unearned benefits are often described by researchers as "beauty premium," but the meaning is the same as that of "pretty privilege."

One study that decomposed the beauty premium in an experimental labor market, for example, identified that physically attractive workers are more confident, are (wrongly) considered more able by employers, and have various 'additional' skills (such as communication and social skills) that result in higher wages.

Essentially, unattractive people experience significant disadvantages in comparison to attractive people. In fact, some describe these disparities as comparable to the income gap between genders or ethnicities.

However, even if we acknowledge the existence of pretty privilege, is it something we can eradicate? u/ZeuslovesHer doesn't think so. "Unfortunately, I believe it's in our DNA to assess someone from the first moment we lay our eyes on them. It's probably just our genes telling us this is someone I'd be good to reproduce with, or someone I'd be good to be friends with, because their beauty might add some [social] benefits to my life."

"I'm sure a lot of it is subconscious. I don’t think this will change anytime soon, but I do think people are pretending to not care about looks, to be body-positive, etc. even though it's probably not how they actually feel."

u/ZeuslovesHer revealed they are someone who is probably considered beautiful by the majority. However, the Redditor didn't realize that until recently. However, beauty privilege, according to them, might have a few disadvantages as well.

"First of all, everyone underestimates me when they meet me. They immediately think I'm stupid or that I never bothered with my education because I got things easy in life," they said. "That is not true, I worked hard, I paid for college myself, working different jobs and I graduated top of my class. A lot of people I met instantly resent me, especially girls, it's almost like they feel threatened or something, even though they have absolutely no reason for it."

"And then there is the really dark part of it, which is all the sexual harassment I had to endure, sexual assault attempts from men, since I was a teenager."

I guess, this proves there are two sides to every story.