I definitely think my appearance is a form of privilege. I was an ugly duckling as a kid, and only from age 16 onwards was I remotely conventionally attractive. From 18 onwards I have been “pretty”, in a slightly unusual way, which I accentuate with an idiosyncratic albeit flattering style. It’s weird looking in the mirror sometimes, I feel like I need to keep checking that this is really me. Except I did get an eating disorder around the same time I started becoming “pretty”. Because I couldn’t internalise it.

My pretty privilege definitely manifests in my workplace, I get really great job interviews and can charm customers in sales more easily because I’m an attractive young woman. But I’ve also not really experienced the downsides you mention either, eating disorder aside. It could be that my country is safer than the US. I don’t know.