One of the most unfair things about life is that some people are born naturally good-looking, while others are not. Those blessed with incredible genetics have an upper hand in life, not because of anything they’ve achieved, but because they won the genetic lottery.
People who are good-looking or have “pretty privilege” benefit from the halo effect: because of their looks, they are seen as morally virtuous and are more likely to get raises and promotions at work. With little social effort, they get to be the center of attention, have everyone dying to do them a favor, and never have a hard time finding a date on Friday night.
What happens when people lose their ‘pretty privilege’?
For some who were born conventionally attractive, it’s an incredible gut punch when they lose their pretty privilege due to age or other circumstances. When this happens, many are forced to accept that they had it easy for so long, often without knowing it. A former male model lost his privilege after mental health struggles led to weight gain, and he confessed what happened to him in a Reddit post. “It’s pathetic how differently I’m treated when I am attractive,” he titled the post.
“I am a 24-year-old man, in my late teens and very early 20s. I made some money as a male model, but due to mental health issues and a string of awful relationships, I put on a significant amount of weight,” the Redditor wrote. “The way people started treating me differently was staggering. No one cared about what I had to say, and people treated me like being fat/chubby was the most significant aspect about me.”
What happened after the man regained his privilege?
The interesting thing is that he gained a 360-degree view of his privilege when he began to lose weight and saw people’s behavior toward him become more positive. “I have gradually started losing the weight, and now it is showing. It is blatantly obvious how differently I am treated. People look at me more, smile more, give me more stuff, go out of their way to help me, and are overall more attentive to what I have to say. People also seem to be more scared about confronting me, but that may be because I am more muscular now,” he continued.
A woman in the comments dealt with a similar situation. “100% can confirm. Spent most of my youth and young adult life as a conventionally attractive, curvy woman. Health issues hit and now I’ve gained over 100 lbs and use a walker to get around at 43,” she wrote. “I’m nothing to people now. It’s almost comical how some people will go out of their way to make sure you know they aren’t attracted to you. Or to tell you you’d be attractive if…(fill in the blank with whatever dumb thought pops into their heads).”
The man received a strange gift that most people only see one side of: he saw what life was like as a conventionally good-looking person and as someone who didn’t really stand out in a crowd. Let’s hope his story reminds everyone that we all deserve kindness and to be seen for our beautiful, unique selves, regardless of appearance.