How the world perceives someone based on their looks influences their success, the favors people do for them, open doors and opportunities, and impacts the type of social interactions they encounter. This is something that happens naturally and is considered to be a concept called ‘pretty privilege’. Numerous studies show that attractive individuals greatly benefit from their beauty, but many people wonder if pretty privilege even exists.
Pretty privilege exists and gives people societal advantages in life.
People receive advantages in life because the world deems them as beautiful. According to Anthropologist Clelland Ford and Psychologist Frank Beach, beauty is perceived differently in different cultures. This means that different cultures prefer various features such as skin color, body hair, weight, eye color and hair texture. Psychologically, facial symmetry and an average-looking face is viewed as the most attractive. Human beings are inherently superficial. We are biased toward treating people who look good better. Social psychologists Micheal A. Hogg and Graham M. Vaughn discovered that people viewed as “attractive” receive different treatment.
When a person is viewed as pretty, the privileges start early. Children get higher grades or gain popularity in school. According to social Psychologist Hogg and Vaughn the privileges that adults receive when viewed as pretty are more dates, more success in their careers, and coming across as more likable to the people around them. This phenomenon also ties into the Halo Effect. This concept is basically when someone is beautiful it is automatically assumed they are smart, funny, or talented as well. And vice versa you might assume someone is not smart, not funny, or aloof.
40-year-old Jeremy Meeks was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm and grand theft back in 2014. The Stockton police Department uploaded a photo of his mugshot to their Facebook profile. The post gained over 15,000 likes and shares in less than one day. From his mughot, Meek to gained the nickname “Prison Bae” and caught the attention of several modeling agencies. He ended up signing with the White Cross Management in 2015 while still serving his sentence. After being released, he became very successful in adopting a modeling career and even had the opportunity to appear in the Tommy Hilfiger and Gigi Hadid collaboration show in 2018. He now appears in some movies and is titled an American fashion model while still being a convicted felon. Meeks’ story is a prime example of how pretty privilege works in someone’s life. He was down a dark path in life being a convicted felon and committing poor crimes. Because of his beauty and level of attractiveness, he was able to turn his life around and do something that would gain him great fame and accomplishments.
Pretty privilege may give an individual leeway academically, career-wise, special life opportunities, and much more. As seen in several studies, pretty privilege is real and can make a positive impact on an individual’s life.
