Hot Phobia: What Is It & Is It Real?
The term ‘pretty privilege,” suggests that those who are considered conventionally attractive by society benefit from their looks in daily life, but few have considered its opposite, “hot phobia.”
One UK mom, Sabine Roll-Cohen, says she is a living victim of hot phobia, stating that she is often, “ignored and ridiculed at [her child’s] school gate because she’s too beautiful — and the other parents can’t handle it,” (Lefroy, 2025, p. 2).
Roll-Cohen says she enjoys dressing up for routine activities by wearing small shorts, low dresses, or crop tops but has noticed that the other moms actively ignore her when she’s in her favorite outfits and only acknowledge her when she arrives in jogging clothes.
She goes on to say, “I’m not going to change who I am to please them,” and believes her experience is a testament to how women are too often treated when they dress how they please (Lefroy, 2025, p. 10).
References:
Lefroy, E. (2023, June 12). ‘Hot phobia’ is real — I know because I’m sexy and a victim of it. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2023/06/12/hot-phobia-is-real-i-know-because-im-sexy-and-a-victim/
