According to Tris McCall of "The Star-Ledger", the song implicates that "American women are flung from their cradles into competition with each other, and are coached to disguise their flaws and distrust any gesture toward solidarity." Additionally, the track's lyrics deal with the consequences of society's high standards of beauty, and in "Pretty Hurts" eating disorders are depicted as one of the subjected results. The track also sees Beyoncé denouncing "plastic smiles," and during the last verses she demands to "strip away the masquearede". Critics observed that "Pretty Hurts" promoted its listener's ambition for fame and personal growth. The song's lyrics garnered comparisons to TLC's "Unpretty" (1999), and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" (2002). Marc Hogan of "Spin" opined that "Pretty Hurts" resembled a speech accompanied by music and felt that it served as a political statement addressed to the beauty industry. Hogan's view was echoed by McCall of "The Star-Ledger" who wrote that had the song been performed by Phil Ochs in 1995, it "would have instantly recognized it as a protest number". McCall went on to opine that "Pretty Hurts" served a response to the criticism Beyoncé received for her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during American president Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013.