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There's a great short story by Ted Chiang that explores a similar idea: https://waldyrious.neocities.org/ted_chiang/liking-what-you-.... It's interesting to think about how much attractiveness plays into the way the world works.

How about:

After a landmark constitutional amendment guaranteeing absolute equity under the law, the government mandates the implantation of “equalizers” in all citizens at birth.

These brain implants suppress intelligence to a standardized mean and distort visual perception, rendering all faces equally devoid of distinguishing beauty.

Kurt Vonnegut wrote this story in 1961:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron

And maybe the protagonist would find an exemption and turn out to be better looking and smarter which causes problems for him/her?

Pretty contrived.