25 “Pretty Privilege” Experiences By Men That Prove How It Affects Them Just Like Women

Whether we like it or not, our society is heavily based on appearances. In fact, many people believe that a person’s looks can make a statement about their personality, values, interests, and many other things. 

One of the best examples of this is the phenomenon called “pretty privilege.” In a nutshell, it occurs when people who are considered to be conventionally attractive are awarded significant societal advantages. 

Granted, what is considered conventionally beautiful, as history shows, is changing rather quickly. In ancient Egypt, men were expected to have a reddish-brown skin tone and angular bodies with broad shoulders.

Then, in the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603), men with powerful legs, shapely thighs and strong calves were considered to be the epitome of masculine anatomical perfection. They were also encouraged to wear long and curly hair.

Of course, the time between these two periods is not small, but it still shows how absolutely different beauty standards can be. 

Nowadays, what is considered beautiful is changing even faster, and social media plays a big part in this. Modern trends, which current beauty relies pretty heavily on, die out and change very fast, leading to standards changing at a pace that’s impossible to catch up with. 

Yet, some folks still go out of their way to describe what characteristics make a modern person conventionally attractive, despite speedy trends. Usually, things like clear skin, a symmetrical face, a fit body, and other things are mentioned in lists like that. 

So, technically, if a person checks the boxes for being conventionally attractive, it is quite likely they get that aforementioned pretty privilege. You might wonder – what kind of privilege can looks bring? 

Well, most of the time, good-looking people are considered smarter, more capable, trustworthy, and simply as just better people. It all comes down to something called the “halo effect.” Basically, it’s when a good impression in one area, in this case, looks, influences positively the view of other areas, in this case, the character of an individual. 

The thing is that this privilege doesn’t only apply to things like dating; it applies to many sides of life. For example, economic advantages can come from it – attractive people are more likely to receive raises and promotions. Also, good-looking people are less likely to be convicted, or at least are more likely to get less harsh sentences, for the crimes they commit. 

For more examples, in fact, more specific ones, you can take at today’s list. It was collected from answers netizens provided in a thread under the question “What are examples of ‘pretty privilege’ for men?” The question suggests that most of them apply to men’s experiences, which is just as important to talk about in relation to this topic as women’s. 

At the same time, some of these experiences could just as well be applied to women too, as they’re more about attractiveness overall, not gender. So, make sure to check out the list and express your opinion about it by upvoting and maybe even sharing your examples in the comments!