For starters, the title, “Pretty isn’t Pretty” is an ironic take on the idea that being pretty is not enough to feel beautiful. Essentially, even the prettiest girl cannot feel pretty because society imposes the idea that there is always someone or something more beautiful, pitting women against one another to feel secure in themselves. With the constant change in the beauty standard, it seems as though women will never be enough for society. While Olivia Rodrigo fits the beauty standard, she too feels defeated by the patriarchy and the pressures placed upon us (women) to be desirable enough for others. There is always something “better,” and that is what Rodrigo implies through her sardonic title. This song fits perfectly into the theme of this album, GUTS because in one interview, Rodrigo stated that she chose the word “guts,” to symbolize how this album is a representation of her “pouring her guts out” to the world. In other words, many of the songs on this record are vulnerable and personal to Rodrigo and she conveys many struggles such as heartbreak and self-confidence. So, “Pretty isn’t Pretty,” is Rodrigo’s way of telling the world that she experiences the same issues that the rest of us suffer with. This analysis will dive into several feminist rhetorical strategies throughout the song and how Rodrigo employs feminism to portray the idea of the pressures put on women through societal beauty standards. 

     Furthermore, there are a plethora of lyrics in the song that employ several feminist rhetorical strategies. Rodrigo utilizes pathos many times throughout her song. It is worth noting the chorus:

When pretty isn’t pretty enough, what do you do?/

And everybody’s keepin’ it up, so you think it’s you./

I could change up my body and change up my face/

I could try a new lipstick in every shade/

But I’d always feel the same/

‘Cause pretty isn’t pretty enough anyway. 

Rodrigo illustrates how she does not feel beautiful enough for society while also addressing the issues of the media and society in line, “and everybody’s keepin’ it up, so you think it’s you.” As discussed previously, Rodrigo feels as though she cannot keep up with the constant change in beauty standards and she feels defeated in feeling worthy of beauty. This employment of pathos tugs at the heartstrings of the audience, both due to how relatable the feeling is and the sorrow for Olivia. It creates a sense of connection between both groups of people because it illustrates the idea that no matter who you are, we are all equally affected by society. Another section of the song that carries this theme is as follows, “You can win the battle, but you’ll never win the war/You fix the things you hated, and you’d still feel so insecure.” In other words, it feels like a never-ending cycle of insecurity living in a world that puts so much emphasis on perfection and beauty. Rodrigo pulls in evidence for this claim by writing:

It’s on the poster on the wall, it’s in the sh*tty magazines/

It’s in my phone, it’s in my head, it’s in the boys I bring to bed/

It’s all around, it’s all the time, I don’t know why I even try. 

The suffocating nature of the media plastering and promoting the beauty standard is inescapable. To tie all of this into Ronald and Ritchie’s ideas of rhetoric, Olivia Rodrigo can be classified as a feminist rhetor because her songwriting, particularly in this song, “Appeals to experience, to irony, and on the constant assertion of their own ethos. Create a ‘women’s language.’ Create new styles and forms ‘in order to break out of the confines of a rhetorical tradition that they believe reinscribes women in powerless and silent positions’” (Ronald and Ritchie, xxii). The lyrics in “Pretty isn’t Pretty” appeal to the experiences of societal pressures and insecurity that many women face. Furthermore, Rodrigo utilizes songwriting as her style choice because it is her way of expressing herself in the best way she knows how. However, as Ronald and Ritchie mention, “It’s not black and white. Feminist rhetorics still draw from “traditional methods” (xvii), and “Each context demands different appeals, form, evidence, and rhetorical ethos” (xxiii). Rodrigo works with rhetorical methods such as symbolism, metaphor, imagery, irony, and pathos to construct her songs in a way that they still convey a certain message for the audience to take in.