DisfigurementEdition 1

Disfigurement: Understanding Visible Difference is a collection of essays which brings together an all-star cast of researchers, clinicians, advocates, and activists around the world, many of whom have lived experience with disfigurement. Seeking to reduce stigma around disfigurement, they explore the experience of looking different including interventions to help with social integration, social media issues, and prejudice towards physical difference. The collection serves as a call for activism and offers a direction for future research.

This book responds to the three themes prevalent in the literature on disfigurement: (1) the psychosocial aspects of body image and identity, (2) interventions, and (3) representations of disfigurement. In section one, the book explores the psychosocial aspects of body image and identity among people with disfigurement. Section two looks at interventions, including those involving social media. In response to this misrepresentation, section three offers the voices of people who are helping to change public opinions through media and activism.

This book is invaluable reading for all clinicians, researchers, activists, people with disfigurement, and those who care about them. Disfigurement: Understanding Visible Difference is a crucial resource for students of disability studies, social work, and health psychology.