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The topic that I chose today, is an elephant in the room. The experienced people in this world are aware of it, I assume. However, there are still a major part of the population which is completely unaware of it as they were about Torritupsis Dorhnii, that we shall talk about in another article.

Now the question arises – What is pretty privilege? Well, pretty privilege is having an unfair advantage on the basis of your looks. Here’s an example, you see a vibrant butterfly and a dark-colored moth, which one do you think will be capturing your eyes first? Or which one do you think will be preferred by 9 out of 10 people? Yes, it’s the butterfly. The meaning’s clear? Well, delve ahead to know how much this pretty thing has influenced our world.

As a part of growing up, did you notice that one girl in your school who would never get called upon by teacher even if she did no work securing good grade? Had you ever back then thought, why didn’t she get punishment when she also didn’t finish the assignment? Maybe you thought that she is a girl, most probably that is why? Which takes us to the next point that pretty privilege is an unfair advantage but not as unfair as the other discriminations such as gender, creed, race, caste, colour and list goes so on, rather pretty privilege is a kind of advantage that disputes with all of these other mentioned discriminations or the advantages got on the basis of it. It is a type of benefit mostly availed by people who are “appealing” according to the society. The ones who have slim noses, the ones whose body is well built, the one with big doe eyes, the one who has a pretty voice and I may type all of the qualities that we can find in an Apsara levitating in Lord Indra’s court!

An unfair advantage, is it really unfair? Does it really harm the person not availing it. Well, the answer can be yes or maybe no. Now ask, Geeta, you just said it is an unfair advantage then how could it be a good thing? Yes, I have got you covered totally! Have you seen those pretty girls on social media who get tons of likes, shares, comments and followers for just nodding their heads? What did you say? Is that a yes? It means you’re also following one, aren’t you? Okay, now the real question – Have you ever heard about Taylor Swift? Beyonce? No no these are world-famous artists, okay, what about Tam Kaur? Liz? Most probably not! The women I just mentioned here are the women who are using this unfair beauty privilege to the best to make other people as aware, as confident, as amplified as they are! The voices that they carry, the charm they possess, the rift that gets in – every single thing is empowering. The person who understands this and uses it for the best of others are the people who still give hope that an uncontrollable thing as this may be used for some good cause.

Coming back to the main topic of our argument. An unfair advantage you say? Even after some people empower it, it still is unfair, uncontrollable, unequal, one-sided, prejudiced and most of all discriminatory! It still is something that may completely mess with one’s self-belief! What if a child who faces this against may be traumatized for their whole life? Yes, this is a serious topic that needs to be explained, that needs to be written and spoken. A child who has always has this advantage grows up being too over-confident or a type of person who may not handle pressures and stress that are new to him/her just because people were keeping that person on cloud nine for having “beautiful facial features”. They refused to give them the same level of negative attention.

This advantage which may be a boon for someone can totally be a curse on another person. Talking about boon, people who experience this “phenomenon” may develop unrealistic expectations, objectification, lack of authenticity, difficulty forming genuine connections and the list goes to infinity if we talk. Also, people tend to get greater opportunities and admiration but what is the use when your real talent is behind the mask of your beauty?

One thing, that I have mentioned before and I will mention again is, why is no one talking about this. Why the people who have faced this against and in favour really hiding it? The answer is totally unawareness. The majority of our population only knows what is being taught in books, what is being shouted a teachers thousands of times like a broken record the why do we not include such a crucial topic in our textbooks? Why is no one writing an article on this? Well, I am writing one, and I really hope the person who chooses to read this article may take another step and talk about it.

While summarizing, I may write pretty privilege is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that perpetuates inequality and reinforces harmful beauty standards. However, by acknowledging and understanding its implications, we ourselves can work towards a more inclusive and equitable society that may not rely upon someone’s beauty, but their cerebral talent. 

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