Re-membering the Face: Beauty, Belonging, and Being Seen | McKenzie Bergenback | TEDxChattanooga

Quick Overview

McKenzie Bergenback argues that "re-membering"—the act of seeing and truly witnessing others, particularly those with facial differences—is a vital form of aesthetic justice, a public health intervention, and the root of love and belonging, rather than mere anatomical repair or vanity.

Key Points: The speaker defines the core challenge as "re-membering," which is about helping people return to themselves, piece by piece, after experiencing trauma or difference. Bergenback cites Resmaa Menakem's concept of Somatic Abolitionism, which focuses on healing the body's reflexive biases rather than just intellectualizing them. True healing, according to the speaker, is found in listening and witnessing, not in perfecting or concealing differences. The presentation contrasts the medical focus on repairing anatomy with the deeper need for identity and belonging, suggesting that beauty, when life is at stake, cannot be vanity. The speaker encourages the audience to perform a somatic practice: breathing, grounding, touching, and witnessing themselves and others without alarm or pity. The ultimate goal is to expand the definition of beauty to include everyone, thereby expanding the circle of belonging, which the speaker asserts is a human right. The speaker illustrates the impact of not being seen by referencing studies on the bias between Black and Blue lives in America.

Context: McKenzie Bergenback delivers a TEDx talk titled "Re-membering the Face: Beauty, Belonging, and Being Seen" at TEDxChattanooga. The talk centers on the ethical and social imperative of truly seeing individuals who possess visible differences, especially facial differences resulting from birth differences, trauma, or cancer, moving beyond mere functional medical outcomes to affirm their identity and inherent worth.

Detailed Analysis

McKenzie Bergenback advocates for a paradigm shift in how society views and interacts with individuals who have facial differences, framing it as "re-membering"—helping people return to themselves, piece by piece. She contrasts the typical medical focus on anatomical repair with the deeper need for identity and belonging, asserting that when the cost of being seen is life or death, beauty cannot be vanity; rather, beauty is dignity and belonging, which is a human right. Bergenback introduces Resmaa Menakem's concept of Somatic Abolitionism, which posits that biases live in the body's reflexive responses, meaning repair must also be somatic, not just intellectual. She challenges the audience to move past the initial "flinch" or alarm when encountering difference by practicing grounding exercises (hum, breathe, ground, touch, witness) to stay present and truly see the whole person, rather than reacting with pity or avoidance. The core message is that expanding our definition of beauty expands the circle of who belongs, leading to self-restoration and collective thriving.