Face equality is feeling fucking fabulous (and how you can be an ally beyond Face Equality Week)

That’s a wrap for Face Equality Week! And here’s a few more thoughts from me:

Face equality is feeling fucking fabulous.

Face equality is wearing clothes that make me feel and look good.

Fave equality is actively participating in photos, without using filters to change my appearance.

There’s an assumption that when you have a facial difference, skin condition or disability, you don’t want to look good. People without facial difference think, why would someone like me make the effort when I will most likely hide away, get stared at for the wrong reasons, or feel ashamed about my face? Their expectations of me and others with facial differences and skin conditions are low.

But here’s the thing:

We can have pride, positive self esteem and body love when we look different. We can have body neutrality too – that is, feeling ambivalent about our appearance.

We can want to feel and look sexy or powerful or attention grabbing – and we can enact all of these things through what we wear and how we show up every day.

These feelings and actions demonstrate that this is me, I will not hide. We will not hide.

Images: several images of me, a woman with a red face, short dark curly hair tied back, wearing a dark purple velvet suit over a red floral blouse. She’s in a fancy house – on a staircase under a chandelier; on a chair, near a door, near a statute mimicking the statue’s pose – pulling an arrow. She’s happy, smiling, confident.

💜

I wore a purple velvet suit to a work do the other night, and I got so many compliments. I felt fucking fabulous. It was comfortable, made me look tall and feel amazing.

I saw Quant at the cinema today. At the end of the documentary, there was a quote by Mary Quant. “Fashion is not frivolous. It’s a part of being alive today.” Truth.

💜

Face Equality Week is over now. But please don’t forget the concept of Face Equality all year round.

Question the media you see – when people with facial differences are portrayed as the villain, or overly medicalised or pitied.

Look at who’s not on screen, or at Fashion Week, or in advertising.

Question why an artist wears a mask depicting facial difference to make people laugh and gasp in fright; and remember that when they take off their mask after the performance, they won’t endure the daily stares, ridicule and fear that I do.

Call it all out.

Teach your kids not to be scared of people with facial differences.

Make space for authentic representation.

Write complaint letters in solidarity.

Follow orgs like @faceequalityint and @changingfacesuk. Check out Face Equality International’s website.

See us, accept us, love us, don’t look away.