You know the song, right? You should, but it’s okay if you don’t. It’s Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts”—a haunting anthem about the lengths we go to in the name of beauty. The video shows a beauty pageant contestant breaking under the pressure—pills, starvation, forced smiles, and the relentless chase for perfection. The message is clear: Pretty hurts.
But what if it didn’t have to?
Pretty Doesn’t Have to Look the Same
Society’s rulebook on beauty is outdated. It tells us pretty is thin, pretty is symmetrical, pretty is smooth, pretty is young. But who decided that? And why do we keep listening?
Pretty can be stretch marks and scars. Pretty can be wild curls or a shaved head. Pretty can be dark skin glowing in the sun or freckles like constellations. Pretty can be a body that’s soft, strong, or somewhere in between. Pretty can be aging gracefully or unapologetically fighting time with Botox—because choice is beautiful, too.
The point is, pretty isn’t a monolith. It’s a spectrum, a feeling, a rebellion.
Pretty Doesn’t Have to Feel Like Pain
We’ve been conditioned to believe beauty requires suffering. Tight shoes that blister. Jeans that cut off circulation. Makeup that clogs pores. Diets that leave us hangry. Surgeries with brutal recoveries. We endure it all, whispering, “Beauty is pain,” like it’s some sacred truth.
But what if we stopped glorifying the grind? What if we unlearned the idea that discomfort equals worth?
Real beauty shouldn’t demand our suffering. It shouldn’t make us smaller—not our bodies, not our voices, not our joy.
Pretty Should Feel Like Freedom
Imagine a world where “pretty” wasn’t something you achieve but something you embrace. Where it wasn’t about fixing yourself but about being yourself—fully, fiercely, unedited.
- Pretty is waking up and deciding today, I choose comfort.
- Pretty is eating what you love without guilt.
- Pretty is skipping the makeup because your skin deserves to breathe.
- Pretty is wearing what makes you feel powerful, not what makes you look “flawless.”
- Pretty is rejecting the idea that you have to be beautiful to be valuable.
Redefining Pretty on Your Own Terms
The most radical thing you can do is to reclaim “pretty” for yourself. Not for the male gaze, not for the algorithm, not for the critics—but for you.
So let’s retire the old rules. Let’s make pretty kind. Let’s make it effortless. Let’s make it yours.
Because the truth? Pretty doesn’t hurt. The box they put it in does.
And darling, you were never meant to live in a box.