Tiffany Salmond has weighed in on the ‘pretty privilege’ debate that has been brewing in the Big Brother house this week.
The Channel Ten series erupted on Wednesday night as housemates Holly and Abiola clashed in a fiery debate.
The former footy presenter, 27, weighed in on the clash on Friday, taking to Instagram to share a series of clips revealing her thoughts.
Kicking off her series of clips, Tiffany said she was uniquely qualified to speak on the subject of ‘pretty privilege.’
‘I have actually spoken to it before but more so from the angle and concept of pretty punishment which is pretty much what housemate Holly was trying to convey and it wasn’t received very well,’ she said.
Continuing, Tiffany rehashed the debate between Holly and Abiola which saw Abiola storm off and, subsequently, break down in tears.
Tiffany Salmond, 27, has weighed in on the ‘pretty privilege’ debate that has been brewing in the Big Brother house this week
Tiffany complained while the housemates appeared receptive to Abiola’s claims of feeling ‘invisible’ due to her weight, they shut down Holly, who was on ‘the other end of the spectrum’.
‘She [Holly] decides to join in and talk about being really attractive and there’s a double-edged sword,’ she said.
‘The thing that really annoyed me… is how no one held space for her. She was immediately shut down.’
Tiffany went on to say both exceeding and failing to meet societal beauty standards are both ‘traumatic experiences’.
‘The truth of it is, if you don’t meet the beauty standards on one end of the scale, or if you exceed the beauty standards on the other end, both sides are actually extremely traumatic experiences just in very different ways,’ she said. Â
‘On this side [unattractive] you’re invisible, disrespected, bullied. On this side [attractive] you’re hyper-visible—you become a target. People project all their insecurities onto you. You’re now a threat.
‘Worse, on this side [unattractive] you get sympathy… on this side [attractive] people relish in your downfall. They’re complicit, they encourage it, and they mock it.’
Rounding out her series of posts, Tiffany continued to defend Holly, saying she was ‘upset’ with the response the reality star received from housemates.Â
The Channel Ten series erupted on Wednesday night as housemates Holly (pictured) and Abiola clashed in a fiery debate
The fiery debate on Wednesday’s Big Brother saw housemate Abiola (pictured) reduced to tearsÂ
‘What is new to a lot of people is how really attractive, beautiful people experience life,’ she said.
‘People get so angry when a beautiful woman talks about how her looks impact her life in a negative way.
‘It’s very clear that we’re still not ready to have the conversation that attractive women can be bullied, sabotaged, and torn down.’
Tiffany’s comments come after Holly revealed on Wednesday night she did not believe in the concept of ‘pretty privilege’ at all, saying she was previously ‘over-sexualised’ and called ‘stuck-up’.
Disagreeing with Holly’s sentiment, Abiola shot back with: ‘Yeah, but I’d rather that than people not give me the time of day because they think I’m gross.’
‘You guys live an easier life,’ she added. ‘People don’t think you’re disgusting, do you know what I’m saying?’
Holly replied: ‘I can’t relate to that. People have called me stuck up. I’ve been sexualised.’
Abiola shot back, ‘I’d rather be sexualised than people not want to even look at me,’ to which Holly replied: ‘Do you think it’s fun being sexualised?’
Tiffany said she was uniquely qualified to speak on the subject of ‘pretty privilege’, saying that being attractive and unattractive are both equally ‘traumatic experiences’Â
Replying that she didn’t, Abiola continued: ‘But I’m a black woman and I’ve also been sexualised, too. I’d rather people think I’m stuck up, sexualised, than people think I’m gross and not give me the time of day.’
Clearly angry over the exchange, Abiola took herself away from the table, telling the group: ‘I’m actually getting a bit fired up. I’m getting p***ed off.’
She retired inside, breaking down in tears as she was consoled by fellow housemate Allana.
‘I’m not saying it’s not hard, being a woman is hard. But you can’t understand what it’s like. I’m a fat black woman. Lesbian. Masculine. I get s*** yelled at me out of cars.
‘I’d rather get catcalled than be called a fat piece of s*** out of a car.’
After Coco and Mia joined the pair to throw their support behind Abiola, she broke down again in the diary room.
‘I just got to a point in the night where I didn’t want to talk anymore. I’m happy with my life and I’m happy with who I am,’ she said.
