The face is a core feature of our physical identity. Our face is how others identify us and how we think of our “self.” Yet, human faces are also essential mechanisms for communication and as a means of eating, breathing, and seeing. Thus, facial disfigurement can endanger our fundamental notions of self and identity or even be life threatening. Because it is so difficult to conceal our faces, the disfigured face compromises appearance, status, and, perhaps, our very way of being in the world. This book examines the cultural meaning and social significance of interventions aimed at repairing f ... More

The face is a core feature of our physical identity. Our face is how others identify us and how we think of our “self.” Yet, human faces are also essential mechanisms for communication and as a means of eating, breathing, and seeing. Thus, facial disfigurement can endanger our fundamental notions of self and identity or even be life threatening. Because it is so difficult to conceal our faces, the disfigured face compromises appearance, status, and, perhaps, our very way of being in the world. This book examines the cultural meaning and social significance of interventions aimed at repairing faces defined as disfigured. It explores four sites in which a range of faces are “repaired”: face transplantation, facial feminization surgery, the reality show Extreme Makeover, and the international charitable organization Operation Smile. The book considers how efforts focused on repair sometimes intensify the stigma associated with disfigurement. It also considers alternative interventions and everyday practices that both challenge stigma and help those seen as disfigured negotiate outsider status. The book delves into the promise and limits of facial surgery, examining how we might understand appearance as a facet of privilege and a dimension of inequality. It argues that facial work is not simply a conglomeration of reconstructive techniques aimed at the human face, but rather, that appearance interventions are increasingly treated as lifesaving work.