Devon Carrow on living with Alopecia and coping with appearance-related bullying
As part of our Annual Bullying Survey, we asked young people how they felt about their appearance. Our research revealed that – given the opportunity – 1 in 2 young people would alter how they looked in order to feel better about themselves, even considering dangerous and invasive surgical procedures such as liposuction, botox and breast implants.
Appearance was also cited as the number one aggressor of bullying, with 51% saying they were bullied because of attitudes towards how they look; 26% said their weight was targeted; 21% body shape; 18% clothing; 14% facial features; 9% glasses and 8% hair colour.
Unfortunately we can’t identify the exact reason why somebody decides to act in this manner but we find that bullying, is usually a learnt behaviour. After all, None of us are born with the ability to read or sing a song; nor are we born with the ability to discriminate against someone because of the colour of their hair, or a unique facial feature. People who feel the need to bully others normally feel threatened or intimidated by a factor that is not well-known to them or that they have limited understanding of. Unfortunately, instead of taking the time to understand or embrace that difference, they act negatively towards the unknown. If the person bullying is specifically homing in on physical attributes, it is more than likely they are doing so because they feel bad about their own appearance and are projecting their insecurities onto other people.
In this video Devon Carrow talks about living with Alopecia and her experiences with bullying because of attitudes towards this factor.
If you are experiencing bullying and need support, don’t hesitate to contact us.
