Sex, Dating and the Sisterhood: 'Does 'pretty privilege' affect your dating life?'

Pretty privilege

noun: When being pretty/beautiful gets you better things or opportunities.

In general, we seem to be against admitting (publicly) that we think we're hot. 

Sure, there are those moments when we catch a glimpse in the mirror of ourselves rocking an outfit, or having nailed a perfect blowout before walking out the door.

But generally speaking, saying you "look good" is something we feel more comfortable being told — and politely disagreeing with — than claiming ourselves.

Introducing "pretty privilege": the uncomfortable concept that essentially means attractive people tend to succeed and benefit more from life.

"This just doesn't sit comfortably with me," Sex, Dating and the Sisterhood host Shelly Horton tells co-host Bianca Farmakis.

And Shelly has a point; there's nothing wrong with being "hot" or "attractive".

The way we perceive attractiveness is where the issue (and privilege) lies.

Pretty privilege looks at the fact that, generally, the image of "attractiveness" that's reinforced regularly is white, thin, able-bodied, and symmetrical (whatever that means).

While attractiveness is obviously subjective, the privilege of being attractive lies typically in that cookie-cutter 'ideal'.

And although love can be found on both an island and an app, prettiness certainly affects your love life.

Dating site OkCupid found "attractive" women were likely to receive four times the amount of messages as "average women" and 25 times the amount as (their words, not ours) "ugly women".

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In a study titled Facial Attractiveness, researchers found "physical attractiveness has important social consequences - beauty is associated with upward economic mobility, especially for women".

They also discovered people who have dated "more attractive individuals" reported being more "satisfied" with their dates.

Pretty privilege even affects our work lives, as Daniel Hamermesh, a University of Texas psychologist discovered. He found a person with above-average looks earns an average $230,000 more in a career spanning 40-years than a person with below-average looks.

But are we still really blinded by beauty? There seems to be a generational disconnect.

"No one wants to feel unattractive when they date someone, but no one wants to feel like they're only there because they're hot," Bianca explains, explaining millennial women are wearing less makeup regularly (one study even found up to 63 per cent of Gen Z'ers have ditched it entirely during coronavirus.)

"If I'm pared-back, it means I'm married," Shelly jokes, revealing in no way is she giving up her go-to glam look.

Watch the above video to find out more about how 'prettiness' impacts dating.