Pretty privilege is the tendency for people who are viewed as more attractive or "pretty" to receive more opportunities, benefits, attention, or other perks than their less attractive counterparts. The concept of ''pretty privilege'' does not have a founding figure but rather emerged through online feminist discourse about how women are expected to be attractive, especially relative to men. With the proliferation of large scale

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

platforms that focus on

physical attractiveness Physical attractiveness is the degree to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing or beauty, beautiful. The term often implies sexual attraction, sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be d ...

and greater discussion of social dynamics on platforms like TikTok, pretty privilege has become an increasingly common term. Pretty privilege can be seen in its effects on career trajectory, social acceptance, legal aid, and gender dynamics.

Related concepts

Body privilege

Body privilege is a concept used to examine the economic, social, and political advantages or benefits that are made to both men and women based solely on their

. The term was borrowed from

Peggy McIntosh Peggy McIntosh (born November 7, 1934) is an American feminism, feminist, anti-racism activist, speaker, and senior research scientist of the Wellesley Centers for Women. She is the founder of the National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum ( ...

's idea of white privilege and evolved into the idea that privilege could also be based on a person's body size. Samantha Kwan coined the term "body privilege" and explains how it affects some people's everyday life. For example, in some cases a person's body is seen as an indicator of a person's intelligence. A person's body can also be a deciding factor on employment decisions such as hiring and promoting.Kwan, S. (2010)
Navigating public spaces: Gender, race, and body privilege in everyday life
Feminist Formations, 22(2), 144–166. However, some may say that privilege may only apply in unchangeable circumstances, such as race or gender, and not in cases that are under the control of the influenced. For this reason, the very idea of body privilege remains debated. The term "body privilege" indicates that there are social benefits to fitting the standard image. Even though the term is a relatively new concept, concepts such as the stigmatization of obesity and

sizeism Sizeism, weightism or size discrimination is unjust or prejudicial treatment directed at people based on their size. Discrimination This type of discrimination can take a number of forms, ranging from refusing to hire someone because they are c ...

goes far back. In terms of workplace environments, the Uconn Rudd Center found that employees that possess features such as higher body weight often face "unfair hiring practices, lower wages, fewer promotions, harassment from co-workers, and unfair job termination". Alternatively, Kwan also states that physical attractiveness is a determining factor in the hiring process. Those who are deemed as conventionally attractive are stereotyped as individuals who are more intelligent and seen as those who have happier marriages, and generally lead better lives.

Halo effect

The

halo effect The halo effect (sometimes called the halo error) is the tendency for positive impressions of a person, company, country, brand, or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings. The halo effect is "the name given to the p ...

posits that a positive impression of a subject will positively influence one's other impressions of that subject. The term was first introduced by

Edward Thorndike Edward Lee Thorndike ( – ) was an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia University. His work on comparative psychology and the learning process led to his " theory of connectionism" and helped ...

in his 1920 paper, "A constant error in psychological ratings". Nisbet & Wilson (1977) broadened the term's understanding to also include that the same tendency occurs when people are the subject as well.

Physical attractiveness stereotype

The

physical attractiveness stereotype Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, clinical examination, or medical checkup, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a Disease, medical co ...

suggests that attractive people are often assumed to have desirable qualities, such as intelligence or trustworthiness. Status characteristics — observable characteristics of someone’s visible appearance like age, sex, body type, or race — determine the extent to which individuals have decision-making power in groups, with perceived attractive individuals being given more influence over ultimate decisions.

Sexual capital

Sexual capital Sexual capital or erotic capital or sexual market value is the social power an individual or group accrues as a result of their sexual attractiveness and social charm. It enables social mobility independent of class origin because sexual capit ...

or erotic capital refers to the social and economic value accrued by an individual or group as a result of their

sexual attractiveness Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or ma ...

and desirability. Sexual capital is determined by intersecting aspects of a person, including race,

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, class, and

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

Effects

Career

The impact of pretty privilege on career opportunities has been widely studied within

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. Researchers have found a variety of information related to how perceived attractiveness affects

career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...

. The benefits of pretty privilege in career trajectory are often associated with an increased tendency for attractive job-seekers to get hired and to receive higher

wages A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...

. Overall, there is a positive

correlation In statistics, correlation or dependence is any statistical relationship, whether causal or not, between two random variables or bivariate data. Although in the broadest sense, "correlation" may indicate any type of association, in statistics ...

between physical attractiveness and chances to receive a job offer. Watkins & Johnston found that attractive people with mediocre résumés have an increased likelihood to receive offers to interview. Furthermore, attractive individuals earn a higher

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...

throughout their life than less attractive individuals. Mobius & Rosenblat found that prospective employers were willing to provide a 10.5% increase in salary offers to attractive individuals when all other information is the same. Further research examined interpersonal perceptions of attractive people among co-workers, finding that attractive employees had a higher likelihood of being seen as socially competent and being recommended for a successive role. Additionally, the

social capital Social capital is a concept used in sociology and economics to define networks of relationships which are productive towards advancing the goals of individuals and groups. It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interper ...

that attractive people amass as a result of their pretty privilege can be utilized to further career connections and opportunities.

Social

Attractive individuals are provided desirable social attributes based on their appearance; they may be seen as more confident, likable, or persuasive. Attractive individuals also are perceived as more trustworthy upon first impressions. For those deemed less attractive, pretty privilege in a social context can have adverse affects on

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and achievement levels. Gupta et al. (2015) concluded that there exists a negative relationship between physical attractiveness and depression/distress. The same study also concluded that there exists a positive correlation between physical attractiveness and psychological well-being.

Government

In the United States, pretty privilege manifests within the three branches of government. On a judicial level, analysis of cases reveal that attractiveness can affect all aspects of a criminal process. Research has revealed that defendants perceived as attractive are less likely to be arrested, less likely to be sentenced, and less likely to receive harsh sentences. Furthermore, the perceived attractiveness of the representing lawyer impacted case favorability, with more attractive lawyers having greater levels of case success. In the executive branch and legislative branches, the attractiveness of candidates can influence voters’ choices.

Gender

Pretty privilege exists amongst all genders, with

men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

, and those of other gender identities facing a myriad of expectations/societal norms informing why they might receive such privileges. Within contemporary society, women tend to feel the effects (or lackthereof) of pretty privilege more acutely, as women are more commonly objectified and hold lesser societal power than their male counterparts. Furthermore, research has proven that women are more readily perceived through their physical attractiveness and traits than men, with this emphasis on appearance associated with hostility towards women and sexist practices. Features granting pretty privilege are different around the world and throughout time. Some traits that are commonly considered to be desirable for women are facial symmetry, large bust size, full lips, and a low waist-hip ratio. Some common traits that are commonly considered to be desirable for men are tall height, masculine facial dimorphism, upper body strength, and broad shoulders.

Responses

Responses to minimize the effects of pretty privilege exist in numerous contexts. In the work place, there is a movement to decenter attractiveness by shifting dialogues from physicality to ability. Blind recruitment, diverse interview panels, and talent assessments are tactics employers have used to minimize the impact of attractiveness on hiring decisions. From a social perspective,

body positivity Body positivity is a social movement that promotes a positive view of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities. Proponents focus on the appreciation of the functionality and health of the human body instea ...

content on social media has been proven to positively affect users’ mental health and minimize pretty privilege biases. A smaller body of research also suggests that pretty privilege can negatively impact attractive people, with a higher tendency for attractive individuals to be viewed as vain, despite other largely positive assessments. Additionally, Hamermesh (2011) posits that pretty privilege is a form of social productivity, in which the privileges attributed to attractive people should be viewed in the same way as other inherent characteristics like

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

physical strength Physical strength is the measure of an individual's exertion of force on physical objects. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training. Overview An individual's physical strength is determined by two factors: the cross-section ...

, or musical ability.

References

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