Charley Guptill: Acne’s absence in media leaves scars

My sophomore year is poorly documented because I did not enjoy posing for pictures that showed off my breakouts.

But my Facebook profile doesn’t seem to be the only place where depictions of acne are generally absent.

I’ve had acne since I was a second-year, but despite how easily my red skin showed up in the mirror or on camera, the experience I felt living with acne didn’t seem to show up anywhere at all.

It’s not in the media. It’s rarely brought up in body image blog posts. And it’s only ever in my friends’ minds if they’ve had acne themselves or if I tell them about it.

Having acne is very hard, and profoundly affects the experiences of people who have it. It can lead to negative body image – something I’ve struggled with myself.

People with acne often avoid certain activities that exacerbate or draw attention to their acne, such as sweating while playing sports, having face-to-face conversations and looking in the mirror, according to a Manchester University study on adult acne. I didn’t go swimming for almost a year because the water would wash the topical creams and moisturizer off of my face, and I love swimming.

These are the types of niche issues that, if they were to begin to show up in the media or in popular discussion forums such as this one, would help the people that struggle with them feel normal and accepted. But the fact that they don’t leaves individuals with acne feeling alone and unappreciated.

The media I consume is full of stories featuring people with clear skin. I literally cannot watch a television show in which any of the characters have acne (or have acne that they are proud of, anyway). The only celebrity I see with zits is Harry Styles, and his skin is clearer than mine has been for years.

Even at UCLA, the promotional and informational materials created by the university feature almost exclusively clear-skinned faces. Looking through the various pamphlets, booklets and advertisements put out by UCLA, I’m able to find only a handful of zitty cheeks among hundreds of faces (and no faces that have severe or even moderate acne).

It is not just commercial media that excludes acne. Even The Body Positive movement, a national trend toward improving body image, does not adequately address it.

There is a strong and diverse movement that rebels against homogenous and unrealistic media depictions of thin people. Many art pieces and essays for this movement focus on documenting and influencing the realities faced by people who are fat. A comparable movement that is appropriate for acne does not exist.

I’ve also looked online to find a supportive community. However, online spaces that do focus on acne generally do not feel safe, which is to say that entering them puts me at risk of anxiety or self-objectification. Ideally, I could chat with other people who have acne, but whenever I do find a conversation about acne it is paired with recommendations for acne treatments.

Comments sections on these articles are always filled with do-it-yourself scrubs and folk beliefs about apple cider vinegar and lemon juice – all of which send me into a state where I am compelled to cleanse my face with ultimately damaging home remedies. Initially excited at the idea of finding an online community, I generally leave acne-based websites feeling anxious and even more self-conscious.

Acne is brushed off as a tangential, temporary problem – the plight of high school students or otherwise a minor grievance for people with only a few blemishes. But it isn’t. It is substantial and deserves to be better understood. It should be included both within mainstream media and The Body Positive spaces.

But now I have much-needed peace with my skin. But several years of extreme discomfort and several hundred lost selfies later, I’m well aware of the significant impact acne has had on my life and the need for that impact to be known.