19 September 2018

"Acne positivity movement"

[Kali] Kushner, 23, from Cincinnati, Ohio, began documenting her struggle with acne on the Instagram account @myfacestory – her experience with the drug Accutane, dermarolling, makeup, scarring, hyperpigmentation, alongside all the ways people have responded to her acne, from her husband, who has been steadfastly supportive, to the traffic police officer who assumed she was a junkie. To her surprise, people began following. Today, with more than 50,000 followers, she makes up part of the growing acne positivity movement.

After years of oppressive aesthetic perfection, acne positivity is a drive for people to be more open about their skin problems, from the occasional spot to full-blown cystic acne. It joins recent moves to celebrate the many and varied appearances of our skin – from vitiligo to freckles and stretch marks – but also seeks to educate those who still believe that acne is a problem for the unwashed and unhealthy...

He tells of a US study in which participants were shown a selection of photographs of high-school students with skin problems, as well as photographs of the same students with their acne airbrushed out, and asked for their impressions. The results, Shergill says, showed that “as soon as you have any disfigurement on your face, you get viewed as an introverted nerd."

While many regard acne as a teenage affliction, it can evolve into adulthood. An estimated 25% of all women over 30 still have the condition.
The story continues at The Guardian.

2 comments:

  1. It's a long time ago, but I remember being pretty much acne-blind when I was the relevant age; lots of other things worked their magic on the attraction front. And Whoa, go easy on that Accutane, it causes birth defects and requires an extra-stringent prescribing regime. https://www.rxlist.com/accutane-drug.htm#precautions Which shows how delicate is the balance in utero to deliver symmetrical babies from an undifferentiated zygote. I have a pair of identical twins in class this term: one is a southpaw: turns out that twins (both identical and fraternal) have about twice the likelihood of being differently-handed as the general population.

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  2. This sounds suspiciously familiar, like the story line in "How to Get Ahead In Advertising" with Richard E. Grant.

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