Appearance; Discrimination and the Media, Portraying Facial Disfigurement Fairly in the News

Author

Garrisi; Diana ; Janciute; Laima ; Johanssen; Jacob

Year

2018

Publisher

University of Westminster Press

Language

English

Pages

ISBN

978-1-91265-622-6

Link

Last Update

02-Apr-2026

Keywords

Political Science ; Sociology

Description

One in 111 (542,000) people in the UK have facial disfigurements and one in 44 (1,345,000) have a significant disfigurement to their face and body.³ Around 15,000 children are born in the UK every year with a disfigurement.⁴ Disfigurement can be defined as having one’s appearance affected by a congenital or acquired medical condition. Causes of appearance change can stem from: burns; birthmarks; scars; craniofacial conditions; skin diseases and the impacts of head and neck cancers.

People affected by a visible difference can suffer twice, firstly from the cause or condition, and secondly from appearance-related prejudice and discrimination, often on...