They say beauty is pain, but that's not always the case.
Laverne Cox is ready for more deep celebrity conversations on If We're Being Honest, which returns Nov. 9. And in this sneak peek at the E! series' new episode, Laverne and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Garcelle Beauvais discuss a public bias that's not often talked about.
Kicking off the conversation, Laverne recalls, "I remember my friend Janet Mock was being interviewed by Oprah [Winfrey] on Super Soul Sunday, and Oprah was asking her about 'pretty privilege.'" The term refers to how people are treated differently based on their perceived beauty.
As a trans woman, this bias is something Laverne has become very familiar with over the years. "I certainly didn't start out feeling beautiful," the Inventing Anna star continues, "but I always understood the power of beauty, and there's privilege there."
But as Laverne points out, being viewed as pretty in the public eye doesn't mean you always get off easy. "When you're privileged, it doesn't mean that your life is easier than anybody else's," she notes, "but it just means there's something you don't have to think about."
Garcelle agrees with the host and goes on to acknowledge how her own pretty privilege is "something I don't have to think about."
"If I walk up to a counter, being nice and being pretty will most likely help me get whatever it is that I'm trying to get," Garcelle states, "whether it's an earlier flight, 'Can I upgrade to first class?'"
Wrapping up the deep discussion, Laverne ends things on a funny note by poking fun at her guest, saying, "Yes. Garcelle Beauvais upgrades to first class."
Check out their discussion in the clip above.
Catch new episodes of If We're Being Honest Wednesdays starting Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. on E!.