How To Support People With Facial Differences - The Face Equality Week 2024 Special

How to Support People with Facial Differences - the Face Equality Week 2024 Special

[large text: How to Support People with Facial Differences - the Face Equality Week 2024 Special]

Today is the 13th of May, which means that the Face Equality Week has just started. This year's theme is “My Face is a Masterpiece” which is probably my favorite sentence ever said about having a facial difference. Huge fan, should be used way more often in my opinion.

Because of this occasion, I would like to share some thoughts about Face Equality that I think are rather entry-level, i.e. you don't need to know much to execute these, but you can still support us.

Stop the stare.

I know it's fun to stare - or so I guess, at least - but maybe you shouldn't. Next time you see someone who has a scar or who's face does not move the same way as yours, just mind your business. We can tell when you're “discreetly” looking.

Don't call us deformed.

Knowing how the people you're trying to support actually call themselves should be an absolute first step, but most people still fail here. Most of us don't appreciate being called “deformed”. I certainly don't. Say “facial difference”, or “disfigurement” if you must. It's 2024. Leave “deformed” to medical reports from the 70s.

No more “What happened?!”s.

If you aren't a doctor, there's a high-to-100% chance that it's none of your business. It's cool that you're curious - keep it to yourself.

Stop insinuating that we are ugly.

“Support people who are ugly!” isn't very supportive. I would say, not in the slightest. Say “people who don't fit the current beauty standards” if that's what you mean.

Or, to go with this year's theme, “people whose faces are masterpieces” : )

Use critical thinking online.

Is the reaction photo actually funny, or is it just a person with a craniofacial condition? Is the meme actually a meme, or is it just making fun of a person with a facial disfigurement? Is body-shaming suddenly hilarious to you when the person shamed has strabismus?

If the entire punchline is “lol they have a disability xd”, it's ableism. Plain and simple.

To go with the point above - your joke is probably not funny.

We get it! You can't help telling us how "you're going to hell for laughing" (which yeah, probably) and how we remind you of the ugliest character you have ever seen. I guarantee you that we heard it, and that you are behaving like an edgy middle schooler who hasn't "found out" yet. It's boring and annoying. Also ableist, but you're aware of that already if you're saying that you're going to hell.

Stop with the goddamn trigger warnings.

We aren't “body horror”, we aren't “gore”, we aren't something that you need to advise your viewers to use their discretion over. Every “graphic footage: child with neurofibromatosis” and “#tw burn scar” is a sign of ableism and disfiguremisia. People with facial differences deserve to be seen. Ableds can survive seeing a person without a nose.

Do a basic reading on what disfiguremisia is.

New word! And an important one. It's a brand of ableism that intersects with more or less everything, and it means discrimination and hatred of people with facial differences/disfigurements. The bullying, harassment, endless name-calling, and microaggressions are all results of disfiguremisia. The ways in which everything is harder for us isn't some unchangeable rule of how the world works, it's just an extremely prevalent type of discrimination.

Understand that we are people.

I know, revolutionary - and yet impossible for so many people to get. We can be a visual representation of evil when it's necessary, we can be a feel-good inspirational story on a morning talk-show, but not much else, it seems. In reality, we are complex, we have our own lives, we can be happy and sad and have the same exact joys and worries that you have.

Hey, artists - facial differences don't make you evil.

Title stolen from a great essay by Lise Deguire (link). When's the last time you saw a positive character with a facial difference that wasn't inspiration porn? I mean a character that's not edgy, full of angst, a murderer, or a villain. Based on what you see in the media, you'd think that having a scar renders you evil on the spot, but in reality it just makes you loathe how artists apparently think you are like. It's boring, it's overdone, it's ableism. Stop doing this, and start noticing when it's being done. Point it out if your friend is writing their new villain to be an evil burn survivor. This kind of portrayal needed to stop ages ago, but tomorrow will be a great time as well.

Before you reply with “I've never seen this” - Darth Vader, Lion King’s Scar (subtle name, great thing to teach kids!), Freddy Krueger, Voldemort, we could be here forever. You're just not paying attention.

Pay attention to where we are not included.

As discussed, there are some places where you see us all the time. But where do you not see us?

Advertisements (unless it's for a scar-removal cream, of course). Fashion shows. Magazine covers. Romance movies where we are the main character.

We deserve to see ourselves in what's around us in the same way able-bodied people do. Trying to make it seem like we don't exist - that's deliberate.

Interact with our art.

We draw, write, sing, act in movies, we do everything. Support us in the most tangible way - leave us a nice comment, read our books, listen to our songs. Watch movies where actual people with facial differences star, not pseudoinspirational stories about how “being disfigured is ok” where they shove an able-bodied actor into a full face prosthetic just to not have an actor with a disfigurement on set.

Include us.

As this year's Face Equality Week calls for, include us. In art, in movies, in books, in your life. Show us as positive people who are valuable, who are a part of your community - I guarantee that we are in every one that's out there. The world is hostile and unwelcoming to people with facial differences - be the change, wherever you are.

I know that it is different from the usual posts I make, but I hope it was somewhat educational. I just like to use every occasion that I can to force Face Equality into people's heads. To make this at least a bit about writing to keep the blog's theme, I will say that if you want to write about us, you need to care about us in real life as well. Otherwise, it's pointless and, as representation, genuinely worthless.

Below the readmore are some links/resources that you can click to educate yourself further. A lot of them lead to Face Equality International because they have just about everything you should know. If you want to be a better ally to people with facial differences, I heavily recommend them.

#MyFaceIsAMasterpiece

mod Sasza

https://faceequalityinternational.org/the-harmful-trope-of-facial-differences-in-film-villains/

https://faceequalityinternational.org/why-i-will-not-hide/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/disability-is-diversity/202111/hidden-community-the-movement-face-equality

https://faceequalityinternational.org/facial-differences-in-the-media/

https://faceequalityinternational.org/advertising-excludes-women-with-faces-like-mine/

https://www.phoenix-society.org/resources/burn-community-bookshelf

https://faceequalityinternational.org/about-fei/international-face-equality-week/

https://faceequalityinternational.org/hidden-from-view-women-with-facial-differences-in-the-media

https://www.phoenix-society.org/resources/i-dont-see-your-scars

Thanks for actually clicking the readmore

Masterlist of my writing (AO3)

Hey everyone! I write for a variety of fandoms, and thought I'd make a masterlist to help promote some of my work! If you like any of my stuff, let me know! I love reading comments, even though I'm bad at responding to them.

THE QUARRY:

If I Seem Dangerous, Would You Be Scared? (Dylan/Ryan) INCOMPLETE WIP

X-MEN:

We Fear That Which We Cannot Understand (Charles Xavier & Darwin)

Dialed Up To Eleven (Charles Xavier/Eric Lehnsherr)

Silk and Lace (In Black and Red) Can Drive a Man Right Off His Head (Charles Xavier/Eric Lehnsherr) INCOMPLETE WIP

DOCTOR WHO:

Would You Like To Stay For Dinner? (Would You Like To Stay Forever?) (Tenth Doctor/Martha Jones/Jack Harkness) INCOMPLETE WIP

BALDUR'S GATE 3:

Their First Night of Many (Astarion/Gale, Bloodweave)

A Quiet Evening (Astarion/Gale, Bloodweave)

You Need Not Face The Darkness Alone (Astarion & Gale, pre-slash)

DUMBGEONS AND DRAGONS (PODCAST):

Together, We Can Weather The Storm (Thia Amastacia/Flint Firebeard/Nulara Moonbrook)

The End of the End, and the Beginning of a Beginning (Thia Amastacia/Flint Firebeard/Nulara Moonbrook)

BBC MERLIN:

Just Another Monday (Merlin/Lancelot, Mercelot)

Secret Keeper (Merlin/Lancelot, Mercelot)

Guilt and Ghosts (Merlin/Lancelot, Mercelot) INCOMPLETE

Nightmares (Merlin/Lancelot/Gwaine, Merwaincelot)

Death of an Immortal (Merlin/Lancelot, Mercelot) Temporary Character Death

Camping (Gwaine & Everyone (except Arthur), Platonic, pre-slash)

LORD OF THE RINGS:

The King's Bathhouse (Éomer/Faramir, Éomer/Faramir/Aragorn)

Comfort In The Dark (Éomer/Faramir)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON:

To Dance Beneath The Stars (Bruno Madrigal/Hiccup Haddock, slash or platonic, crossover)

ENCANTO:

To Dance Beneath The Stars (Bruno Madrigal/Hiccup Haddock, slash or platonic, crossover)

If The Sky Comes Falling Down (Bruno Madrigal & Mirabel Madrigal, platonic) INCOMPLETE

FANTASTIC BEASTS:

Pure of Heart (Newt Scamander & his creatures)

CRIMINAL MINDS:

Career Day (Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid) INCOMPLETE

Would You Be My Safe Space? (Spencer Reid & Jason Gideon, Spencer Reid & Penelope Garcia, platonic, wingfic) COMPLETE, but the first in an INCOMPLETE series

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE:

Injured...Yet Again (Peter Parker & Tony Stark & Pepper Potts)

Studying The (Actual) Civil War Sucks (Peter Parker & Tony Stark)

Under Open Skies (Perhaps We Can Heal) (Clint Barton/James "Bucky" Barnes) INCOMPLETE

ORIGINAL WORKS:

Mirror Image (poetry)

Mercelot Week 2023!

archiveofourown.org

Secret Keeper - IronDadAndHisSpiderson - Merlin (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

This is my entry for the June 26 prompt: secret keeper!

REBLOG if you have amazing, talented WRITER friends.

Because I certainly do, and I love every single one of them and their work.

205K notes View Post

sir-gwaine-of-camelot

3 years ago

I don't think I'm physically capable of writing a magic reveal fic that involves Leon finding out about Merlin’s magic and him NOT being supportive. The very idea of writing Leon reacting poorly is unthinkable to me. I may write Merlin thinking Leon will react poorly, but him actually reacting negatively? I can not do it.

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sir-gwaine-of-camelot

3 weeks ago

Announcing the May Trope Mayhem Prompt List for 2025!

A simple graphic on a blue background, entitled May Trope Mayhem! A Multi-Fandom and Original Work Creation Challenge 2025 List. This is followed by a list of 31 items. The items, in order, are: Fairy Tale Fusion; Bachelor Auction; Stowaway; Superhero x Supervillain; Inherited Blessing or Curse; Tiny Adorable Eldritch Horror; Love Triangle to Polyamory; Wardrobe Malfunction; Body Guard Character; Fake Dating; Ghost Love Interest; Idiots to Lovers; Unresolved Sexual Tension* (*resolved); "Who did this to you?"; Character is Conveniently Unrecognizable in Glasses; Breaking the 4th Wall; Time Loop; Wing Grooming; Accidental Summoning; Language Barrier; The House is Alive; Pet Acquisition; A+ Parenting; Mentor and Mentee; Amnesia; Body Swap; Royal x Knight; Second Chance with a Former Love; Identity Porn; Accidental Baby Acquisition; Magical Familiar

May Trope Mayhem is a multi-fandom/original creation event open to writers, artists, and creators of all kinds! Our creators have shared their favorite tropes, and we’ve put together a list of 31, one per day through the month of May. We encourage creators to join us for this month of fun tropey mayhem.

Our goal is to promote motivation and help with habit building, so we’re encouraging authors to keep their ficlets under 1,000 words, artists to stick to making just a sketch, gif makers to only do a single image, etc., as applicable to whatever you’re making.

This event is primarily held on Tumblr, but you’re welcome to participate anywhere Duck Prints Press has an account (you can see all our current platforms here) and we’ll keep our eyes on our tag everywhere!

How can you participate? It’s easy! There’s just a few simple rules:

write a ficlet or a poem, create art, make a gif, or create any other content that you want, aligned with the prompt for the day!

post your correctly tagged fills to Tumblr, and we’ll reblog them! We’ll reskeet works on Bluesky, retoot those on Mastodon, you get the idea. Note: we do not use Twitter.

you must tag warnings such as gore, MCD, sexual content, etc., so that people can make informed decisions!

please also tag fandom and ship, so people can find what interests them!

we ask that you put the tags at the top of your post, so they’re easy to find.

if you write more than 1k words and post the whole text on Tumblr or wherever, please use a read more if the platform allows.

if you create something with NSFW content or potentially triggering material, please put the entire work under a read more.

Ping us (duckprintspress) or tag your creations “#may trope mayhem” and so we can find them! We’ll reblog all fills that follow the above rules and are posted between May 1st and June 8th, 2025. Posting starts May 1st!

If you post to AO3, you can also add them to our collection there!

You don’t have to sign up for May Trope Mayhem, just post your fills. You don’t have to be a member of the Press nor do you have to be following us. You don’t have to be part of a specific fandom. We’re open to all ships, genres, formats, ratings, kinks, etc.! You can post whatever properly tagged content you want. You don’t have to post fills on the corresponding day, though we ask that if you’re creating for a day that hasn’t happened yet, please wait for that day to post.

Participating in May Trope Mayhem? Want to chat fandom, books, creation, and more? Join our Book Lover’s Discord Server!

This is a low-pressure event, held in good fun, and we look forward to seeing what you create!

MAY TROPE MAYHEM Prompt List Text Version:

Fairy Tale Fusion

Bachelor Auction

Stowaway

Superhero x Supervillain

Inherited Blessing or Curse

Tiny Adorable Eldritch Horror

Love Triangle to Polyamory

Wardrobe Malfunction

Body Guard Character

Fake Dating

Ghost Love Interest

Idiots to Lovers

Unresolved Sexual Tension* (*resolved)

“Who did this to you?”

Character is Conveniently Unrecognizable in Glasses

Breaking the 4th Wall

Time Loop

Wing Grooming

Accidental Summoning

Language Barrier

The House is Alive

Pet Acquisition

A+ Parenting

Mentor and Mentee

Amnesia

Body Swap

Royal x Knight

Second Chance with a Former Love

Identity Porn

Accidental Baby Acquisition

Magical Familiar

624 notes View Post

sir-gwaine-of-camelot

4 years ago

I read your headcanon about Percival being a pagan without magic and I just couldn’t stop thinking about the crew going on a quest, or what not, and Percival doing some sort of ritual/prayer to honour Emrys and Merlin just standing their dying of embarrassment.

CF: omg, omg, omg. I had to write it. It’s glorious. Admittedly, I had to write it twice bc the first attempt got wayyyyy too long but still. Here you go:

Keep reading

1K notes View Post

sir-gwaine-of-camelot

2 months ago

194K notes View Post

sir-gwaine-of-camelot

3 months ago

Literally sobbing. A judge, a US judge defended us. A judge brought up intersex people, uaing the term intersex, to *defend* us by not allowing our erasure. I'm having a lot of feelings right now

136K notes View Post

sir-gwaine-of-camelot

4 years ago

"Daddy, why do you only have one leg when Mommy has two?"

Hello! This request was written by @astrid-foreverythingelse! Hope you enjoy!

“Daddy, why do you only have one leg when Mommy has two?”

Hiccup looked up from the vegetables he was chopping into the curious eyes of his daughter across from him. A piece of parchment with a crude drawing of sheep in a pasture lay forgotten in front of her. However, the charcoal remained in her hand as she absentmindedly fiddled with it, waiting patiently for her father’s response.

Hiccup glanced down at his prosthetic and then back to his daughter. “I have two legs! See?” he said, stepping around the table and dancing in a small circle.

Zephyr laughed. “No, Daddy! How come Mommy has two normal legs and you have a metal one!”

“Well, I’d hardly call your mother’s legs normal,” he joked, earning him a punch in the arm from his wife. She scooped up some of the vegetables and playfully glared at him, crossing the room to the firepit as Hiccup massaged his sore arm.

“Daddy,” Zephyr insisted through giggles. “Uncle Tuffie said a troll took it ‘acuz you wouldn’t give him a buckle off your s’irt. Is that true?”

Astrid snorted over by the firepit, and Hiccup rolled his eyes. “You’re absolutely right Zephyr,” Astrid said before Hiccup could say a word. “Your Daddy loves his shirt buckles so much that he let a troll take his leg instead of losing one.”

Keep reading

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