Dear Reader,
As December draws to a close, and we can finally bid 2020 adieu, this issue of Pretty Prerogatives is a reflection my experiences during the pandemic. Socialization is instrumental to the presence and longevity of pretty privilege, and at a time in which socialization was interrupted, how was pretty privilege still affecting us? As opposed to experiencing pretty privilege on billboards or executive boards, during lockdown, I began experiencing pretty privilege in the mediums in which I kept myself busy. While perusing the internet for sweatpants and pajamas, I was introduced to the #AerieREAL campaign. While I initially applauded #AerieREAL for being far more inclusive than Dove’s Real Beauty or Victoria Secret’s Perfect Body campaigns, there are flaws in the campaign that contradict the campaign’s call for inclusivity.
Being stuck in the house also meant I spent a lot more time with my family and on my phone. The more I talked with my family, the more I realized that our varying appearances and ages have strongly shaped our perceptions of beauty and how each of us has experienced pretty privilege. For this month’s conversation, I spoke with my two of my aunts, my sister, and my mother about race, privilege, and beauty. As always, the conversation is divided into micro-podcasts, each representing the parts of our conversation that stuck with me most. I do not add context to these micro-podcasts because my contextualization to influence what the listener takes away from each piece.
As I spent more time with my family, I was introduced to the various ways in which everyone was staying busy within the confines of their home. Some aunts had taken up baking, while some uncles had started DJ-ing again. TikTok was a crowd favorite among the younger generations. I didn’t even need a TikTok in order to understand the insidious ways TikTok is governed by pretty privilege. While I could have written an entire book about TikTok, in this issue, I examined two very important and unique ways in which TikTok is propagating pretty privilege financially and morally. It was important for me to write about TikTok because the app has been downloaded more than 2 billion times globally and has more than 100 million active daily users in the United States. As more and more people join, it is critical that participants are aware of the exploitation that exists on TikTok due to pretty privilege.
Lastly, I wanted to talk about where this whole pretty privilege thing started for me: Scott Westerfeld’s young adult novel Uglies. This book was the first time I was understood pretty privilege. Sure, I had experienced it before, but it wasn’t until I read this book that perceived it as a society issue and not a personal problem. But the older I get, the more I realize that Westerfeld’s book is not as perfect as I once thought, and a lack of non-white representation was fairly harmful for my twelve-year-old-self. I still believe that it is a must read for adolescents, but I stress that it must be read in conjunction with other, diversity-soaked books.
As always, this e-zine is my attempt to digest and cope all of the pretty privilege I experience in my life. I am a mixed-race Cape Verdean girl (I say girl not women because I still have quite a bit of growing to do), therefore, as a tall, athletic, hazel-brown-eyed girl, I have been experienced the benefits for pretty privilege. On the other hand, I am a caramel-skinned, curly-haired woman of color, so I have also experienced the harmful effects of pretty privilege. I have darker skin than most, but lighter than others. I have curly hair, but not quite kinky. I have been discriminated against, yet placed on a pedestal for the way I look. I have been provided with a lens into pretty privilege unique to my liminality, and, the older I have gotten, the more I am realizing the importance of critically evaluating the the ways in which “beauty” and its multitude of forms and definitions are repeatedly rewarded in society. By no means are the things I say in this e-zine universal truths, but they are my truths! I hope that this e-zine will provide just a fraction of the relief and insight for you as it has for me!
Warmest,
Olivia ♡