Is pretty (male) privilege a thing?
An examination into the economics of attractive people
An odd thing happened to me last week.
While waiting for my order at a crowded coffee shop, the type of place they make you come up to the counter, the barista suddenly appeared. “Hi Ben? Here’s your coffee. I called it out but I don’t think you heard, so I thought it was easier to bring it over.” I thanked her, started to enjoy my coffee and had already begun to forget about the exchange.
I likely would have if not for my wife suddenly commenting on the encounter. “…Interesting!” she said. Unaware what she was remarking on, she pointed out that the cafe was very busy, they had several orders waiting on the counter but the baristas weren’t hand delivering anybody else’ order.
I assumed she did it because she saw me and was hoping to clear out the backlog of open orders. My wife believed differently. “She’s making everybody else come up and get theirs. She only came up to you because she thinks you’re attractive!” I dismissed this ridiculous notion. Telling her, that women don’t treat men differently based on their physical characteristics. I clearly had to explain females to my wife.
Even if I accepted her premise, I was not in a state that should have elicited such a response. This was a Sunday after a late night out and deep into my haircut cycle. My least presentable condition. Now you might wonder why I would permit myself to be in such a situation where I would look so unpresentable. I generally try to avoid this but I’m already married and would my wife really consider leaving somebody with nearly 1,000 Substack subscribers? Does she think we grow on trees?1
However after this episode, I was primed and begun noticing instances where classically handsome guys were receiving preferential treatment than their fellow men. This ranged from receiving smiles from women on the street, to having doors held open for them from both genders. Then as I was browsing the internet, I realized there are an excess number of good looking, charismatic men with only around average intelligence occupying many positions of power.
This begged the critical question.
Much is discussed about female beauty standards but is pretty male privilege a thing?
Let’s investigate this important question in this week’s article.
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Do Women Treat Handsome Men Differently?
During my time as a male, I have noticed instances where good looking men achieved superior results with women despite performing the exact same actions, as the non handsome among us. Part of this can be explained by luck and sample size bias but I cannot help but feel that there must be some correlation.
We have regularly been told women are not as shallow as men, so let’s put this to test by investigating whether women treat attractive men differently when it comes to:
Dating
Consumer Behavior
Politics
1) Dating: Beauty, Bias, and Bumble
If women don’t consider physical attractiveness to be a primary factor in partner selection, men with certain features or attributes should not experience more success. Failure and success rates should follow a random walk however when we look at surveys, studies and swipe patterns on dating apps, it tells a different story.
Apparently, and especially early on, women focus on facial appearance and height.
According to several studies, and speaking to women in real life (an odd concept that young people don’t understand), most women prefer men that are taller or at least at their height. The 6 foot mark appears to be the usual delineation point, where there appears to be a big spike interest. It also explains why no 5”10 or 5”11 men exist.
These seem to be the main drivers of women dating choices related to appearance. Physical fitness (muscles), personal scent and having a deep voice are additional criteria that can help sway women, but are less significant. Although you should still try to lose the dad bod if you aren’t yet a father.
Interestingly, some studies have shown that men in the top decile of looks, receive more than half of all female attention, leaving the remaining 90% of the male population to fight over the rest. This is not inconsistent with the experience if you have ever been to a nightclub when a celebrity or professional athlete is present.
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If that isn’t annoying enough, because of the psychological concept known as The Halo effect, if a woman perceives a man as attractive, they will often find them more funny, interesting, cultured etc.
However, it’s not uncommon to see shorter men without classical handsome features manage to find love with a combination of kindness, confidence & charisma (rizz as the youth call it). Having money also sometimes helps.
Jude Law still managed to attract Cameron Diaz despite his physical limitations.
b) Consumer Behavior: Do Women Buy More from Handsome Men?
The short answer is yes. Handsome men get women to spend more money. A few studies have confirmed what retail and luxury companies have known for years; attractive male salespeople are more likely to be seen as trustworthy, persuasive, and charismatic, to female consumers.
This is especially pronounced for luxury goods but also applies at restaurants and even real estate purchases. This is why the next time your girl has a ladies night, make sure they go to your ugliest friend’s restaurant.
It’s not all fun and games for the good looking gents though. In some cases, their beauty works against them and hurts their credibility. In domains where this reigns supreme like finance, law and medicine, women don’t actually want a classically good looking service provider. This is likely why I never heard back from Blackstone.
(These men had to suffer through the indignation of women doubting their abilities)
This aligns with what Naseem Taleb has said in the topic. When given the choice between two doctors, he suggests you select the less handsome one, because they likely had to work harder to get where they are. This can apply to either gender2.
c) Politics: Do women vote with their eyes?
Do Men Treat Handsome Men Differently?
As great as women are, they only make up about half the population, so even if they grant an advantage to handsome men, this might be nullified by other men.
Depending on the context, being handsome can endear or promote envy from other men. In cooperative settings, such as a sports team or organizations with clear hierarchy, having the classic features helps people look the part as the competent leader. In competitive settings or when men are pitted against one another in rivalry, it just gives men another reason to be envious or resentful. This can be especially pronounced in dating, sales or office politics. Some studies even suggest that men are less likely to hire male candidates they perceive as better looking than them.
Despite occasional discrimination from both genders, in aggregate men that are rated more handsome typically earn 10-15% more than average looking gents and are overrepresented in external facing roles, including executive and political positions. However this does not mean life is always easy for them. Actor Rob Lowe complained that his good looks often made it difficult for him to land complex and meaningful roles. They tried to ask the same question to Brad Pitt but he was too busy acting in complex and meaningful roles to respond.
Good looks alone are not enough to guarantee you success, regardless if that’s in dating, politics or business. Perhaps it can give a slight advantage but talent, hard work and luck are much larger determinants. Therefore, don’t be discouraged or resentful of your handsome colleagues, you can still be successful at anything you put your mind to. Look at all the major big tech CEOs or the hosts of the all-in podcast, do these look like people who could coast by on looks alone? Take comfort in the fact that if you do fail, you can’t blame it on your appearance.
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Some people, probably pretty ones don’t appreciate this perspective
I am the fabled 5'11 and have almost 3000 substack subscribers. Unless you own land, I will now await delivery of your wife.
Can attest to this. Being tall has always helped me compensate for my extremely weird personality. Nobody pays attention to the insane sh*t you’re saying when you’re towering over them like a handsome marble statue