Sharon Hao/Edge columnist
In a TikTok by @saharrooo talking about pretty privilege, they say that it’s a real thing according to people that had glow-ups. When you are not seen as attractive to people around you, they think that every little thing you do is annoying along with your existence. But once you are seemed as stereotypically “pretty” and “attractive,” they will treat you with kindness and respect.
So, what is pretty privilege? According to the My Imperfect Life article, “Pretty privilege works on the principle that people who are deemed more attractive—based on societal beauty standards—have an upper hand in the world and are afforded many opportunities that regular folks don’t have.”
The way that pretty privilege can be harmful is the way people’s self-esteem and self-worth can change. There will always be people who will be treated poorly just because of the way they look, and it can be very damaging. It is also unfair that there are employers who reject interviewees just because of their appearance, not considering their feelings or skills. It is very disappointing that people are not treated equally as people who appear attractive to majority of society.
Most minorities are also excluded, as they do not “fit in” with society’s standards. There will always be a group of people excluded, and makeup is a big part of it. There are companies that make shades that are only meant for pale white people, which does not include people of colour at all. When brands are looking for people to show off their product, they will usually go for all attractive people; not just people with a popular platform.
On social media (especially TikTok), if a person is not considered attractive that expresses a message or opinion, you will see people online taking the creator’s message as a joke, and not treating them with as much respect as one who is considered attractive. They might even start discriminating against the person because of how they look and act.
If a person who does not meet the typical beauty standards (being thin, white, tall, etc.) has confidence, they will be judged for being a narcissist, versus an “attractive” person who already meets those standards having confidence which then people will agree with them.
Although pretty privilege is real, it can have ups and downs. Some of the consequences are suddenly assuming things from the way people look, as most people think that if a person is pretty, they will automatically have other good features about them such as assuming that they are kinder, smarter, more successful, and more as a default. This is related to psychology, which is called the “halo effect”. According to VICE article, the brain will try to make a bunch of assumptions about a person because they are pretty, and they will also think they have confidence which then they will escalate to other opinions about that person. “People make these assumptions because their brains are constantly looking for shortcuts to understand its surroundings”.
There are times when people were swayed with attractiveness, especially if they were criminals; some examples would be Ted Bundy and Cameron Herrin.
According to ABC Action News, Cameron Herrin had “pleaded guilty in December 2020 to two counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of unlawful racing on a highway.” He had killed a mother and her 20-month-old daughter while speeding 100+ mph. Ever since his sentence to 24 years in prison, people on the media have been protesting for justice on his sentence as he was “too cute to go to jail”. Videos on TikTok with the hashtag #justiceforcameron have been viewed up to 26.1 million times. According to the Insider article, accounts for his case had also been made on Twitter and Instagram, and a petition was signed over 28,000 times to try to reduce his sentence.
Ted Bundy was also an attractive, charming serial killer and used tactics to kidnap several young women to his advantage. He murdered many victims and possibly more than what he confessed to. During his trial, his charm and intelligence was acknowledged by the public eye and saw Bundy as a “romantic figure.” According to ABC News, “The series paints a disturbing picture of Bundy, through interviews with the detectives that discovered his crimes, archival footage of his trials, and audio recordings he made while on death row, though much of the chatter online was around his good looks.”
People should not be treated differently with exceptions just because of looks, and it needs to be talked about more.
Articles used:
https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/pretty-privilege
https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/epz8pk/psychology-pretty-privilege-attractive-people
https://www.myimperfectlife.com/features/pretty-privilege