Author and feminist Florence Given introduces the idea of desirability and politics, and the role desirability plays in society and ones acceptance (Given, 2020, pp. 32 - 39). Given goes on to state that people still expect different levels of desirability and prettiness from women, depending on where they sit in society’s desirability hierarchy. Different women therefore have different levels of expectations from society to perform stereotyped femininity.
Marginalized women, such as transgender, fat and women of colour do not have the privilege of rejecting these beauty standards, and are expected to perform higher levels of feminity in order to attain the same level of desirability as their privileged counterparts. “ Performing feminity and desirability isn’t always a choice, its often an act of survival” (Given, 2020).
Women of colour do not have the privilege of wearing their natural hair without prejudice, as society has indoctrinated us to believe that beauty, desirability and femininity is synonymous with long Caucasian hair. Transgendered women are held up to a higher level of ‘proving’ their feminity to society. A transgendered woman cannot afford not to shave under the pretence of liberality, such as a cisgendered woman could, as she would then be conforming to the male stereotype, whereas a cisgendered woman is considered to be liberal and innovative for rejecting societal norms. Therefore pretty privilege benefits, thin, white cisgender, able bodied women.
Simon states that the politics of pretty and the impact of pretty privilege transcends beyond physical desirability, as the illusion of ‘pretty’ effects an individuals overall perception. This has been dubbed the Halo Effect. Lucker defines the Halo Effect as a cognitive bias in which an individual’s impression of a person influences how one perceives their character, based upon their physical appearance and perceived level of ‘attractiveness’ (Lucker, et al., 1981).
Moore elaborates on this, as studies show that women who were perceived to be more ‘ attractive’ were associated with higher intelligence levels, and good genes, therefore making them a ‘model mate’ (Moore, et al., 2011). This further solidifies the nature of materialism within society, but further proves that our society values desirability over acceptability.
Do what you want with and to your body, however real change does not start until the people in the margins of our society are liberated and able to make the same choices(without discrimination) as thin, able-bodied cisgender white people.
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