You may have heard of “pretty privilege,” the concept that attractive people are considered to have other positive qualities, such as being smart, successful, and kind, simply because of their physical appearance.
Good-looking people also tend to earn more money and are put forward more often for promotions.
A TikToker called Sarah posted a video this week, which has amassed 159,000 views at the time of writing, where she explained why she thought she had “ugly privilege” and what it meant.
She said that when she uses this term, people will often correct her and tell her she’s pretty.
“But when I say I have ugly privilege, it’s not that I necessarily think I’m an ugly individual,” Sarah said. “That’s not what I mean. Because I’ve been told plenty of times throughout my life that I’m pretty.”
She continued: “But when I say I have ugly privilege, what I mean by that is men, in general, don’t mind me attractive.”
Sarah said that, for the most part, men find her ugly, “and they leave me alone.”
“And to me, that’s a privilege,” she said. “It’s a privilege to be left alone by men because they find me ugly.”
A workplace advantage
Alexa S. Chilcutt, an executive education professor and executive coach at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, told Business Insider that this theory may apply in the workplace.
“Women who are ‘off the radar’ physically may not have to deal with ancillary distractions of others vying for attention and can focus on and are seen for the quality of their relationships and work,” she said. “Being less feminine or ‘pretty’ may work to a woman’s advantage when seeking higher levels of leadership.”
Lucas Botzen, an HR professional and founder of the workforce platform Rivermate, told BI that individuals who aren’t conventionally attractive may be seen as more serious or diligent and “might enjoy certain advantages that will bring them professional freedom and less scrutiny over their work.”
“Employees who do not fit traditional beauty standards are sometimes less likely to be affected by certain biases,” Botzen said.
A 2014 study published by professors at the University of Colorado’s business school argued that women deemed physically attractive were discriminated against when applying for jobs that were perceived as masculine.
Botzen added, “They may well have less interruption from others and less inappropriate behavior, which might enable them to pay more focus on their jobs and thus contribute accordingly toward their role.”
Botzen said attractive people who receive attention for their looks may also be under pressure to maintain that standard. Not feeling that pressure could be professionally advantageous.
“More time and energy can be forwarded to their job rather than being wasted on others’ expectations about the way a person should look,” he said. “All this concentration can result in better performance and greater productivity. This, again purely on merit, can bring in promotions.”
Underlying sexism
Regardless of the “privilege” of being deemed ugly or pretty, women are disproportionately scrutinized for their looks and are acutely aware of this scrutiny.
In a 2022 survey of 1,000 female and 1,000 male employees, 92% of women respondents aged 24 to 35 said that professional women were judged more for their appearance than professional men.
Sinclair Pharma surveyed over 10,000 women globally in 2022. 97% believed women face judgment for their appearance.
Appearance plays a bigger role in how women are perceived and treated in the workplace than men.
For example, earlier this year, a woman called Melissa Weaver told a story on TikTok of a recent interview process for a job she was perfect for. Despite giving a killer interview and checking all the boxes for the role, she was rejected. The hiring manager told her she hadn’t put enough “effort” into her appearance.
The only thing Weaver could think of to justify this comment was that she didn’t wear makeup.
Daniela Herrera, a talent and recruitment expert and founding partner of Allies in Recruiting, previously told BI that employers “still uphold very outdated and inequitable stereotypes and biases at work.”
“I’ve seen hiring managers reject candidates based on the clothes they wear to an interview, the color of the candidate’s hair, their tattoos, or their physical attributes,” she said.
Women are also still subjected to sexist comments. Chilcutt said a male attorney once told her it was a good thing she didn’t have “large breasts” because she was “already attractive.”
“If you did, no one would see that you’re intelligent,” she remembers him saying.
Botzen said people who aren’t conventionally attractive don’t automatically win. He suggested people considered unattractive could experience negative biases about their social skills or personal qualities.
“They might also have fewer networking opportunities since social interactions often base on physical attractiveness,” he said.
Conventionally beautiful or not, it may be a lose-lose situation for women unless underlying misogyny at work is addressed.
“The workplace should, therefore, be organized in a way that all staff are judged according to their skills and contribution to work, rather than appearance,” Botzen said.
