I think I’ve posted in the one of the threads that I’ve female friends (including my ex) ask me if they’re pretty and I’ve replied, “Nope, you’re cute and can’t be pretty, but that’s good because I like cute!”.
My explanation is this:
Cute is natural. It can be faked, but it’s usually really obvious. No enhancement (i.e. makeup) is required. Cute is 24/7.
Pretty can be natural, but usually requires a bit of enhancement (even just a bit of power to even out skin tones) and right atmosphere (e.g lighting). Pretty is X number of hours a day and sometimes cute.
Beautiful is almost unnatural, requiring just the right makeup (light is better, but usually not enough), lighting and pose. Beautiful is when the everything is just right for that limited amount of time and almost never cute.
Also, many people associate “cute” with children, so it can also have baggage associated with it - “beauty” being seen as mature and “cute” implying that you think the person is immature.
Which, again, are also opinions.
Also, they’re not asking if you think they’re cute, they’re asking about pretty, and the answer should always be “yes” outside extraordinary circumstances. The fact you qualify it is - “you can’t be pretty, but that’s OK, because I like cute!” isn’t helping.
By 26 I was bone weary of being ‘cute’. Small furry animals are cute, I’m a grown ass woman, dammit!
Yes, there are many worse descriptors, but ‘cute’, isn’t the all encompassing compliment you believe.
And, cute can’t be pretty? What nonsense! I’m pretty sure you’re all alone in that opinion!
I’ve found that the single biggest contributor to “cute” is “smiles a lot”. Which is something that the person has some control of, but is also about personality, not just hardware.
I hate the word “cute” but I keep using it. When I was a young beetle, it was the word used to describe the most attractive boys. When I got a little older, we started using “fine”, but if I say “He’s so fine”, I get that Chiffons song stuck in my head. Nowadays, I think the word is “hot” but that’s so Paris Hilton.
In my opinion, cute casts a wide swath. Not-very-attractive people can be cute; it’s more about attitude than beauty. Let me see if I can put this in order and offend some people. Pretty, lovely, stunning, gorgeous, beautiful. I’m pretty stingy with beautiful, using it rarely. Very few people are really beautiful, just as very few people are really ugly.
I join the horde in disagreeing with the OP’s definitions.
Where I differ is that I consider “beautiful” to be a societal construct, moreso than the others. There are people that I recognize as being beautiful that are not appealing to me at all. And I can like the looks of someone who I recognize would not be considered beautiful.
The other two terms seem to be much more subjective, I think.
I agree with the OP, but only somewhat. “Pretty”, to me, is a catch-all term for physical attractiveness; but other terms that are largely synonymous have subtle differences in how they’re used. “Cute” suggests someone who is open and expressive. “Beautiful” is more standoffish. “Beautiful” can be captured in a still photograph; “cute” expresses itself more in motion and interaction.
A word can have more than one meaning, or be used in more than one circumstance. A woman and a puppy can both be cute in very different ways. I don’t mean either of them to be demeaning or dismissive.
As a woman, I find both ‘cute’ and ‘pretty’ to be fairly patronising, reducing women to young peripheral figures with nothing much of substance to offer.
I find ‘attractive’ to be a more useful term, applying to people who identify as either gender or none and to any age. Beautiful is superlative attractiveness, and again applies to all.
You’re not wrong. One of the women at work mentioned that she had just been awarded her PhD, and when I remarked that I thought it was “really cute” that she had one, she was angered rather than thrilled.
