The Ugly Truth of Acne Representation | Video Essay

Why do we never see acne in movies and TV - or even pimple product ads?
Why do we never see acne in movies and TV - or even pimple product ads?And what are the implication of that for people's mental health and self image? Let's dig into it!

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[VS-bmep]

My favorite acne story: my best friend who has a perfect complexion complaining to me about that one pimple she had on her chin, how disgusting it was. I had tears in my eyes because my entire face was covered in pimples. I just thought, if she thinks that one pimple is so disgusting and ugly what must she, my best friend, think about my face?‘

[natjackett]

As someone with multiple compounding skin issues including cystic acne, keloids, warts and moles I have been accutely aware since I have been young about the lack of skin diversity in the media.

[dangernoodledee]

It's kinda ridiculous how none of the "popular kids" in teen shows have acne, since a large majority of the "popular kids" I knew growing up had moderate to severe acne. It seems like the only people who don't judge teens for their acne are other teens since almost all of us have it. It's weird seeing kids get teased for it in shows and movies, since that's literally every teen ever. Why are they seen as so weird if they just look like an average teenager. It's like teasing a middle schooler for having braces nowadays.

[in]

When I was a child I thought acne was really beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to become a teenager and get acne myself. I think it’s mostly because my best friend’s older sister had quite a lot of acne, and she was my biggest role model growing up. I thought she was the most beautiful person ever, and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up.

[Yharazayd]

honestly every time i see a character with acne, i get dumb emotional. i’ve always struggled with it and am still *extremely* self-conscious about my skin but with the aid of keke palmer and the occasional show, i’ve been able to — slowly — grow more comfortable with my appearance. thank you for covering this!

[SnoConeWars]

Just now realizing (cause of this video) how messed up it is that so much of media geared towards teens treats acne as something to be disgusted by and ashamed of especially since it's so common for teens to have? Like, they already have to deal with puberty, they really don't need yet more shame for their bodies

[darkninjafirefox]

It's wild how many of us are taught that acne is only a teenage thing when it really doesn't ever stop occurring. As an adult with acne, I struggle with picking at my face because in my mind, a bloody wound is better than a break out

[aos]

I love the fact that Edvin's acne (and of other actors) wasn't covered up for Young Royals. I don't even have acne other than the ocasional pimple, but it made me SO happy to see a bunch of teenagers just being teenagers.

[BlueSeaBox]

Acne is so devastating to your mental health, which is something that people who have never had chronic acne for 5, 10, 15+ years can never understand. When I was at my worst, I refused to leave the house and was utterly miserable and in physical pain. It seems so superficial but really wears you down after years of battling it.

[emilyg]

It’s frustrating when everyone tries to “help you” fix your acne. A year ago I went to visit relatives that i haven’t seen in like 7 or 8 years and CONSTANTLY people would try to “help” my acne and say things how “I would be so much prettier without it” and would get mad at me for me not wanting to hear them out on suggestions. Like I’m sorry that I don’t want to hear you suggest putting baking soda on my face to remove my pimples because that works for you. Whats worse is that I want to become a dermatologist and so whenever I tell my relatives that they give me a quizzical look as though I shouldn’t be one because I don’t have perfect skin even though it shouldn’t matter. I love the science and biochemistry of it all and I’m tired that they would get upset with me for following my dermatologists recommendations at the time because they weren’t giving “instant” results. It’s been a year since I visited them and it’s gotten significantly better since then, not perfect but I’m trying to make peace with the fact that my skin isn’t going to be this smooth filtered goddess skin and that’s totally ok lol. Baby steps

[jasminedemond]

My biggest annoyance with having acne is when random people try to “help” you with random advice… a customer once came up to me at work and randomly started telling me what he thinks I should try to get rid of it and it felt really embarrassing (especially because my face was clearer than it usually is at the time)

It was totally unprompted too, like he just walked over to me while I was stocking the shelf and just started talking about my acne

[possumprince]

I like to watch cartoons to de-stress sometimes and I recently got surprised by a refreshingly good depiction of acne in a show called "The Owl House". One of the main characters has two older siblings that are seen by everyone as cool and flawless, and who both care a lot about their appearances. And the main theme in this episode is how those 3 kids' parents are overly controlling and put unhealthy expectations on them, and how the kids break away from that. It's a minor part of the story, but at one point, the cool oldest sister has to take off her makeup (or, magical equivalent of makeup) and she's got visible acne spread across her face. No characters comment on it, and she doesn't even seem embarassed by it (likely due to being far away from her parents and classmates) but it's noticeable to the audience. But the part that I really loved was how the narrative didn't treat this reveal as "look, she was secretly ugly all along! She's finally getting knocked off her high horse!" Instead, it treats the reveal like "yeah, she looks like a normal 16 year old girl. It's unfortunate that she felt pressured to hide her natural skin."

[sawyersweetart]

I had severe, severe painful acne, and I'm still dealing with the feelings around it, particularly when it is- as noted SEVERELY PAINFUL. NO ONE talks about that. I've had the days of headaches from acne, not being able to open my mouth. I have never, ever heard someone else talk about it in media, or even in treatment guidelines.

It's this assumption that "well, so what if it's painful? It's ugly, address that first." It made my anxiety so much worse, because then people may think I'm just "Sulking because have acne" not that I'm not thrilled to be out because I'm in excruciating pain. I'm not being "precious" or "vain."

The idea that if I just "washed up" or "drank more water" I'd be fine is just as upsetting as it is insulting, particularly in that context. Why would I voluntarily put myself through that pain if just drinking more water fixed it?

But no one knows that hasn't suffered from it, because the messaging is on how offensive it looks to other people.

It was just... so nice to be seen. Particularly as a 30+ adult with acne.

[Nickodemost]

I truly do not understand and never did understand why anyone thinks acne is only ever a hygiene issue

[ryanfoxx]

"you'd be so pretty without all that acne" - a doctor I visited for a routine checkup
(context: she was trying to convince me to start Accutane, which I did eventually do but at this time I was scared of the potential side effects and health risks)

[wynnewhitten-holmes]

I remember a friend in our teen years fussing over a single zit before a social outing. Standing next to her with a face literally covered by painful pimples, cysts and open wounds, I was like, ‘Why are you freaking out? Look at me!’ And her reply was basically, ‘But that's just your face, it's not noticeable anymore’.

[symon]

Why are you speaking to me personally. I felt like this channel was specifically for me when you made the Ace representation videos but now you are talking about acne too?? Im so thankful for this seriously.

[symon]

More and more teen dramas are filled with casts of people who look like, , people. When i watched young royals i was like, , finally teens that looks like teens.

[finch]

as someone who has had acne since i was like 8, seeing the one-off “oh no i have A SINGLE PIMPLE!!! WHAT WILL I DO???!?” episodes of tv shows always made me feel bad. if having one pimple for like a week was devastating, where does that leave people like me who have had it consistently for upwards of 8 years? thank you for covering this topic!

[geekfreak]

Having to wear a mask because of covid was one of the things I loved cause I could cover my acne with my hair and my mask.

It's gotten to the point where I don't think I'll be able to go out without a mask- Causs I've seen the difference I the way people treat me.