Women reveal the surprising downsides to being 'too beautiful'

Turns out being pretty isn't all it's cracked up to be

Always longed to be drop dead gorgeous? You might want to think again. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

While good looks can give you an unfair advantage in some walks of life, you’d be wrong to assume that being attractive comes without its pitfalls.

While there are of course some definite perks, it turns out that the bubble of beauty can make certain aspects of life much more difficult.

Always longed to be drop dead gorgeous? You might want to think again.

Conventionally attractive women have come together in their masses via social site Reddit to voice their negative experiences with one user asking, “Do you have any stories where your attractiveness has actually been a disadvantage?”

The most common response? Not being taken seriously at work – a place many women found to be fuelled by implicit sexist prejudices.

“No one takes me seriously. They assume that I'm stupid and even when I prove that I'm not, there's still that feeling,” one woman admitted.

“It's even been implied that I'd do best as a trophy wife by a manager before.”

Other agreed adding, “I'm fairly young (mid twenties) and was told by the HR person in charge of the hiring committee that I didn't have a chance because older male co-workers won’t take me seriously and could get distracted.”

Even someone’s husband-to-be chipped in about his partner’s bad experience at work, “Sounds like my fiancé. People just thought she was another 'dumb blonde' trying to make it in a “man’s world” (IT). But in reality she ran circles around everyone and knew the system better than any guy on her team.”

Similarly, while beauty pays in some circumstances it became apparent that it can be a somewhat lonely place.

While some found it hard to make female friends, others realised that they would never be able to be just one of the guys.

“This was high school for me. The girls I thought were my friends often secretly hated me and any time I showed weakness they would pounce,” one woman wrote.

“It was extremely stressful and I eventually stopped trying to make girlfriends.”

Another added, “I have to be careful about going out drinking with male friends. After a few drinks, it's not uncommon for them to get flirty (even if they're in a relationship) and I hate having to find a non-awkward way to shut them down while somehow maintaining our friendship.”

The thread also revealed conflicting experience when it came to the amount of attention beautiful women would receive.

While some struggled to find dates, others found the attention they attracted to be dangerous.

“The number of times I've heard 'But you're pretty, I can't believe you're single!' is bananas. It makes me think that no one is dating me or approaching me because they assume someone else is. DATE ME. PLEASE. I'M LONELY,” one woman confessed.

But another disturbingly wrote, “I get catcalled / honked at a lot. I'm constantly worried about my safety. The other day I took a 15 minute walk and in that time I got honked at twice and a guy got out of his car at a red light to ask me if I needed a ride. It just makes me scared sometimes.”

Other women admitted they had experienced similar situations too, “Random guys on the street ask me if I want to grab a coffee or give them my number regularly.

“The negative side effect: creepy old men follow me or try to talk to me in public. They enter my personal space and I am scared.”