Not being beautiful is a blessing

Tinder swipes, career promotions, and restaurant discounts. In a world where physical attractiveness matters so much, how are unattractive people finding it?

Actually, we are doing just fine. Maybe even better.

Being Eastern Europeans in our early twenties, my girlfriends and I already discuss aging. Those who have been experiencing pretty privilege all their lives are devastated. Turns out, no one told them anything besides, "You are beautiful." Turns out, that was temporary. Now, they face a difficult choice: either pump their faces with Botox to try to keep up — or find something else interesting about themselves.

Russian politician Ksenia Sobchak has been criticized for her appearance and lack of physical attractiveness since 2004. A 42-year-old woman now, she recently said that her time has come.

"Because at 42, even if you look good, you still look much worse than a 20-year-old girl, no matter what. The skin isn't the same, everything is different. But when you were a beauty, you have a lot more to worry about because you have something to lose. You were a beautiful woman, and now you're a 40-year-old with bags and wrinkles. But I have nothing to lose in that sense. I never had it to begin with."

Beauty is currency, and for women, it's closely connected with youth. While Brad Pitt is still a sex symbol, Angelina can only "age gracefully." The resource of beauty is attributed to women when they are too inexperienced to use it. When they get more mature, rich, and smart, they cannot be beautiful anymore — it's just too much power.

But what happens to women like Ksenia Sobchak, who never had it? Instead of losing decades relying on and preserving beauty, they start gaining other currency: charisma, intellect, emotional intelligence, and political or business power. On a level playing field in her forties, Ksenia looks just as good as any healthy, happy aging woman.

Except she has so much more than that to offer.