Blog Post #3: Round 1 of Research – Pretty Privilege

Inquiry Question: Does pretty privilege exist, if so, how does it affect life opportunities and eventual outcomes?

Round 1 research question: How is pretty privilege showcased on the media? Does this play a role in the influence of certain celebrities?

The term pretty privilege has been circulating around popular social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram for some time now, however its exact meaning and prevalence in daily life, particularly on social media is now being questioned by skeptics. (1)  Life has arguably never been equal, with an abundance of examples for this being the case; however, pretty privilege is an often-overlooked concept that plays out to be a widespread cause for this phenomenon. (1) Many critics state that the idea of pretty privilege is one of the most widespread factors of inequality across the board, while others argue that the unfair narrative does not exist whatsoever. This may have to do with the persons’ previous experiences with misjudgment around physical characteristics – but often experience with social media. (1) To compensate for a lack of understanding, Psychologist Sarah Bishop explains that pretty privilege refers to those who appear attractive within their cultures standards receiving advantages as a result (1) Furthermore, sexism, racism, and ageism (all related to beauty ideals and societal standards) influence our life’s quality, even in the absence of personality, talents, skills or other sought-after characteristics to offer. (1) Wherever one may fall on the so called “spectrum of attractiveness” plays a role in possible life outcomes and certain qualitative aspects of life. (1)

Our tendency to trust those we subjectively perceive as beautiful is also referred to as marketing bias in addition to pretty privilege. (2) Recently, there has been a lot of talk on TikTok about the concept of pretty privilege; but the idea that humans associate beautiful things as good is far from new. (2) The beauty industry showcases advertisements with airbrushed photos, while the diet industry makes on average $192 billion annually. (2)  For example, a 28-day detox product known as “Flat Tummy Tea” was heavily promoted by Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner to lose an exorbitant amount of weight in a short period of time. (3) The promotion of a product that promises “conventionally attractive” results affiliated with celebrities who have made names for themselves for meeting and arguably creating the current beauty standard is just one of the many toxic examples that the media spews regarding pretty privilege. (3) However, social standards of attractiveness are not just heavily influenced by beauty products. (3) Many popular social media influencers appear to be white, cisgender, able-bodied, and neuro-typical. (3) Nevertheless, viral recognition can happen anytime regardless of apparent beauty criteria being met by an individual. (3)

It becomes evident, however, that those who do not fit into the societal beauty standards are more likely to be showcased to the public when apps promote exposing the suppression of individuals whose videos may be portrayed as “abnormal, poor or ugly.” (3) This is clearly another example of indirect pretty privilege at hand that possibly subjects individuals into further insecurity through reverse marketing that may be seen as pitiful or the companies’ act to not face discrimination for their past portrayal of conventionally beautiful people. (3) Increasingly, social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are bringing beauty standard and societal stereotypes to the main page. (3) In addition to grossly feeding into these issues, these applications have made toxic views of beauty much more prevalent among today’s youth – being beautiful has always had its pros, but nowadays, physical appearance is looked at with tremendously more importance. (3)

It has repeatedly been shown that attractive people are more likely to acquire resources and reproduce than the average individual, gathered by one study. (4) In another study conducted in 2009, 284 people rated photographs of people based on how likeable, trustworthy and attractive they were. (4) The findings concluded that those who were predominantly deemed attractive were also rated to be more trustworthy than those who were “unattractive.” (4) According to California-based neuropsychologist Judy Ho, pretty privilege may serve for evolutionary purposes. (4) As stated by Hilson, pretty people often aren’t to blame, rather it is biology and psychology as the primary culprits. (4) In general, symmetry correlates with biological strength meaning the more symmetrical the face, the more attractive the person conventionally is, as mentioned by Ho. (4)

In addition, Halo effects are mental biases that exacerbate first impressions, according to Psychology Today. (5) This concept occurs after an initial positive judgment or assumption about someone eventually leads to a positive perception of them altogether. (5) For instance, if someone is generally perceived as beautiful, this positive association enables the overall enhancement of their perception. (5) As Bishop mentioned, “I’ve definitely experienced the positive effects of being pretty.” (5) “Like, I do content creation, and I’ve gotten brand deals, and I like to think it’s because of my personality, but I also think it’s partly because of how I look.” (5) As a senior studying specialized material, Maria Welch believes that the only people that experience pretty privilege are those deemed attractive by society as a whole. (5)

In an article published by the NY Post, TikTok creator Madeline Ford stated that depite the term “pretty privilege” coined primarily for women, they must put in much more effort to reap the rewards. (6) It is the rent we must pay for human decency to exist in this world that with men depicting average looks receive the same privileges, respect and treatment as attractive women who have to work on their looks. (6) Another one of the self-proclaimed “privileged” individuals is Shye Lee, a TikToker who runs her own company called 7 Figure Creators, specializing in perfecting the social media business strategy. (7) Although she says that ‘pretty privilege’ only exists in certain areas of life, she without a doubt believes that it exists. (7) Lee told the New York Post that while being physically attractive can secure her free drinks from generous strangers, VIP tables, and common interest among men, it works out to be more of a curse in the long run. (7)

References

1. Hunt, Sagal Mohammed last updated Contributions from Amy. ‘Is “Pretty Privilege” Actually a Thing? Here’s Why We Should All Be Talking . about It’. My Imperfect Life, 4 Jan. 2023, https://www.myimperfectlife.com/features/pretty-privilege.
2. Cloum, Mallorie. ‘Is Pretty Privilege Affecting Social Media Marketing for Female Entrepreneurs?’ Medium, 21 July 2021, https://medium.com/@malloriecloum/is-pretty-privilege-affecting-social-media-marketing-for-female-entrepreneurs-77c87dc827d9.
3. ‘Is “Pretty Privilege” a Real Issue?’ Media History and Development, 11 Sept. 2020, https://mass001.wordpress.com/2020/09/11/is-pretty-privilege-a-real-issue/.
4. Santos, Romano. ‘A Psychologist Explains Why Life Is Easier For Attractive People’. Vice, 15 Nov. 2022, https://www.vice.com/en/article/epz8pk/psychology-pretty-privilege-attractive-people.
5. ‘Taking a Look at Pretty People Privilege’. The Post, https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2022/11/pretty-people-privilege-benefits-attractive. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.
6. Attractive Women on TikTok Are Revealing the Benefits of Their ‘Pretty Privilege’. 7 Jan. 2022, https://www.audacy.com/kluv/latest/attractive-women-on-tiktok-are-revealing-the-benefits-of-their-pretty-privilege.
7. Woman with 99% of Her Body Tattooed Says She Has “Limited Employment Options”’. UNILAD, 7 Aug. 2022, https://www.unilad.com/news/woman-99-body-tattooed-limited-employment-options-amber-luke-aussie-20220807.