changing faces, registered charity 1011222, ‘changing faces is about enabling everyone to face...

Changing Faces, Registered Charity 1011222, www.changingfaces.org.uk

‘Changing Faces is about enabling everyone to face disfigurement with confidence whether or not they have a disfiguring condition’

James Partridge OBE Founder and Chief Executive


Jane Pawluk Memorial Lecture

Appearance matters – Disfigurement confidence for all

National Association of Disability Practitioners

Nottingham, 3 July 2009


A. Overview

B. Supporting a student who has a disfigurement

C. Disfigurement confidence for all

D. Questions…


A. Overview


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Video clip


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Challenging…

Across cultures and throughout history villains have been associated with disfigurements.

This has led to the assumption that a person with a facial difference will be frightening or sinister.

… our expectation that heroes and heroines are conventionally good looking


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The First Lesson…

“Hey – look at that man – What’s the matter with his nose?”

“Hey look at that girl – Why is her face like that?”


Looking and being looked at

Looking is a social activity

Stage 1 - …observational dyads…

Stage 2 - …joint activity dyads…

Stage 3 - …differentiated and enduring feelings for one another

(Bronfenbrenner, 1979)


“It’s the inside that counts.”

“We’re all the same underneath.”

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”


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Cerrie Burnell


Is it just me, or does anyone else think the new woman presenter on CBeebies (Cerrie Burnell) may scare the kids because of her disability?

I didn't want to let my children watch … … I know it would have played on my eldest daughter's mind and possibly caused sleep problems.


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CBeebies controller Michael Carrington said she is warm and natural… "We think that in time all mums and dads and children will love her as much as we do."


Miss Burnell was disappointed by the criticism but welcomed the discussion.

"It can only be a good thing that parents are using me as a chance to talk disability with their children," she said. "It just goes to show how important it is to have positive disabled role models on CBeebies and television in general."


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Manic Street Preachers


B. Supporting a student who has a disfigurement


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Social avoidance loss of major sourse of well-being (Kellet, 2002)

Self-esteem number of positive social experiences per day

(Bull and Rumsey, 1988)


‘Having something to say’

This is a key social skill to enable a person with a disfigurement to manage other people’s reactions.

Move the subject on smoothly

Give brief explanation

Acknowledge initial response

(comment, question or

hesitant approach)


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Impact of Social Skills on Social Perceptions

1Very Favourably

2Fairly Favourably

4Very Unfavourably

3Fairly Unfavourably

Person withunusual

appearance

Person withordinary

appearance

Person withgood social

skills

Person withpoor social

skills

(Bull and Rumsey, 1998)


C. Disfigurement confidence for all


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Responses to disfigurement

‘Stickiness’ in interactions (Davis, 1961)

‘Even though others may not consciously intend to treat a person differently or less favourably when they are facially disfigured, almost all people do, especially upon first meeting them’ (Kleck and Strenta (1980)

9 out of 10 people find it hard to link positive words and phrases to images of people with disfigurement

(Goode, 2008)


The second thing you’ll notice is that we’re great to talk to.


Poster


The First Lesson…

“Hey – look at that man – What’s the matter with his nose?”

“Hey look at that girl – Why is her face like that?”


“I guess that’s just the way his nose is. Look at my nose. It’s kind of ………………………………………. What’s your nose like?”

“That’s the way her face is. My face is kind of ……………………….………………………………… What’s your face like?”


Disfigurement confidence for all - summary

Raise awareness of unwitting negative mindsets around appearance and disfigurement

Provide opportunities to increase appearance confidence and inner-awareness for all

Promote really good social skills for each and every encounter


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Thank you


D. Questions…


Bibliography Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) The Ecology of Human

Development Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Bull, R. and Rumsey, N. (1988) The Social Psychology of Facial Appearance, New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Davis, F. (1961) Deviance disavowal: The management of strained interaction by the visibly handicapped. Social Problems, 9, p120-132

Goode, A. (2008) Disfigurement IAT Research presented at MRS conference, 2008, now being prepared for publication.

Kellet, S. (2002) Shame Fused Acne. (p135-154) Ed: Gilbert, P. and Miles, J. Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research and Treatment Hove: Brunner-Routledge

Kleck and Strenta (1980) quoted in R.Bull and N.Rumsey (1988) The social psychology of facial appearance, New York: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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