This is Sophie; she was born with a raised birthmark called a hemangioma on her face.
She said that during her childhood, she found it difficult to cope with the fact that she never saw anyone who looked like her, she always felt like an outsider.
“People would stare at me and make nasty comments about the way I looked. Thankfully, I had an amazing support network around me who would stand up for me in these situations, but it was hard feeling like I needed ‘protecting’. I didn’t have the confidence to stand up for myself, and I hated that.”
When Sophie was 16 years old, she made the decision to remove the birthmark. She didn’t want to deal with the comments or the stares anymore; while she knew she’d be left with a scar, she thought it would be the better option.
After getting her birthmark removed, she felt so much more confident, but she struggled with a sense of identity loss. The birthmark was what made Sophie her; it was a part of her, but she felt like the only thing she could do was get rid of it, so that she could feel accepted in society.
During her consultation at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Sophie was referred to ‘Changing Faces’ and participated in the charity’s peer group chat service. Since removing her birthmark, she has never liked going out in public without any makeup. However, during these peer group chats, she didn’t, and she felt free knowing these other people wouldn’t be judging her.
“That’s why I’m so passionate about better representation and normalisation of visible differences. The more we see a variety of appearances in the media, the less people like me will worry about showing their true selves in public.”
Sophie is an ex-student at Shrewsbury Colleges Group; she studied Level 3 Art and Design. Sophie said this course was two years of exploration for growth in the art world, and it made her realise she was interested in fashion and data. After completing this course, Sophie moved to London to study Fashion Retail and Business at The Fashion Retail Academy. She decided to do her dissertation on brand representation of visible differences.
Sophie’s goal before graduation is to get her story out to as many people as possible. Spreading awareness about visible differences is essential. Changing Faces as a charity is incredibly valuable for those with facial differences.
Sophie is currently putting together a focus group in which participants who have visible differences speak about their experiences and what they would like to see brands do to improve representation.
Anyone interested can get in touch via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.