Casey, 30, U.S.A.

I'm wondering why everyone is talking about the blonde, when it's the girl with the brown hair with the disfigurement. I was a bit confused about all that. Is there going to be a feature length film on this... I'd like to see it.

bob, 56, london

Surely it is human nature to second glance something that is not normal. It is a basic instinctive survival instinct within spatial awareness. The same as second glancing anything that is surprising, pleasing and attractive, or unpleasant, threatening and dangerous. It is a reflex action that would be almost impossible to control. How would you know not to stare or second glance if you did not stare or second glance in the first place. Once you have looked, its too late. Maybe we should all walk around looking at our feet. But then someone would probably complain that we are not looking where we are going. People with facial disfigurement like myself, realise that people will have a natural and healthy curiosity to anything different and will sub-conciously and inadvertantly take a second look. It does not bother or offend me at all.

keith, 40, yorkshire

the bloke on the train clearly fancies her. lots of men she thinks are staring at her in a negative way will actually be looking at her in the same way they look at all women. i bet this woman has never been short of attention from the opposite sex. despite her 'disfigurement' she is still an attractive lady.

Chris, 34, Argentina

Hello Imogen... nice text , what you didnt get is that it hurts, it is not just a loock,it is something that last, it comes back again and again... but having a different appearance , brings you to adifferent level, thinking, loocking at society with a distance... cTo considerate human as an enveloped with basic instinctive behavior is ok, but this is not what makes us different from the animals ... we have the brain, and that is what unique with us, and that is where it gets interesting there is tantric proverb that says "use what makes you fall to rise" .

Jayne, 46, France but I'm English

I have some facial disfigurement and know exactly how the looks/stares make you feel. I wish they would ask the question "What happened?". Those two words break any divide we might feel but so rarely happens. However, from this video I think the most shameful person in it all was the blond woman on the tube. Perhaps she didn't realise what she was doing but seriously what was going on in her mind. She might have well have jumped up and down and shouted "Freak"! I hope she feels shame and out of it all, she is the one that I have pity for. I think this video is perfect - for me anyhow. It says SO much. Well done.

Terry, 25, London

The video shows you a snapshot of life for people with facial disfigurements, I can relate to the woman, and what she goes through. To be honest, unless you've experienced this "constant staring" "Finger pointing" "being laughed at" "negative comments" all based on your looks, which you can do very little about without the help of cosmetic surgery. Then you'll REALLY won't understand what anyone with a facial disfigurement is going through, day in day out. You ain't got a clue Jerome.

Imogen, 29, London

Mike, I imagine that 'unabashed persitent staring' is indeed very hard to deal with and it is a shame that some people can be that unthinking and rude but that is not what is depicted in this video. What the video shows is that a person with a disfigurment gets double takes from lots of strangers and that, even if the strangers try to hide it, this is an uncomfortable experience for the disfigured person. However, having watched the video and not being a person with a disfigurement I am not immediately any the wiser about how I could change my behaviour to be more considerate. From the point of view of a non-disfigured person It seems a natural reaction to take a second look at something suprising and/or emotive that catches your eye and I could not promise that I would not instinctively try to get a better look at someone who's face is disfigured. If the point is to get people to realise they are doing something that they might be doing unconsciously then what is the result of this new awareness going to achieve? Will people feel even more awkward in the presence of a disfigured stranger? If people try even harder NOT to look at a person with a disfigurement for example, might that possibly be worse? I think a lot of people will feel the way Jerome does about this video. If non-disfigured people are being asked not to even notice or not to be inerested in the fact that another person is disfigured, well then that is something different and is a vey tall order indeed. Perhaps a crucial point is that facial disfigurement is very emotive for many people beacause of the assumed and perhaps real correlation between 'good looks' and prospects for success and happiness in our society. If there was less emphasis on appearances, or perhaps more neutral exposure to disfiguremnt in the media, then there would be less desire to get a good look at someone who looks very different because there would not be suprise or emotions such as fear or pity fuelling the interest. If people watched disfigured news readers or actors on Television for example, any disfigured person they met on the street would easily fall into a category for strangers, recognised as being fine, at a glance and would not require a double take or stare. By focusing on behaviour however, the video makes the point about underlying attitudes a bit subtle. On reflection, If a non-disfigured person watching this video really wants to change their emotional or suprised reaction to disfigurements that leas them to take a good look, I imagine they would probably do well to seek out a person with a disfigurement and become part of their work or social group. Given how focused our society is on apearences, I don't feel that I could genuinely change my own reactions or attitude just by giving it some thought.

chan, 25, PRC

We should make a real and long movie to show how hard it is for a person disfigured to survive in the society,I mean a normal life including marriage ,job etc

Mike, 32, London

The video works very well; gives a short insight into being on the receiving end of unwanted staring without being confrontational. It definitely captures that cheeky staring when someone seems to think they are kind of getting away without being noticed! Although being stared at (or worse, insulted) can make you feel sad and angry, I think most of us understand that it is better to help starers understand why it is inappropriate rather than snap at them. Jerome - as someone who can cover up their facial disfigurement, I am able to experience the difference between the way people look at me normally, and the way my disfigurement is looked at when it is visible. It is a very tangible difference. Unabashed, persistent staring at a feature which you feel sensitive about is very hard to deal with. Take it from me, it is a world apart from the way people look at each other normally. Great work Changing Faces!

Gill Roberts, 46, Leicester

really good video, making a valid point. What would be good would be some indication of how the individual would like/expect to be treated

Jerome, 25, London

I thought this film was rather pointless, confusing and unfair. I'm not disfigured and people look at me like that all the time -- they look up at you then look away; they catch your eye sometimes, sometimes they don't; Sometimes you get a second glance from them. That sort of behaviour and reaction out in public is perfectly normal, it happens to everyone. This film implies that every reaction was some kind of discriminatory responce -- well what kind of reaction is supposed to be acceptable? staring isn't acceptable, a glance then a look away isn't acceptable, and completely avoiding eye contact isn't acceptable... nothing is acceptable it seems. In this film, people's insecurities and assumptions of prejudice are being projected onto every reaction anyone could possibly have it seems.

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