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

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g0TggmM23k
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/8g0TggmM23k
Generated: 2026-01-29T16:45:03.106+00:00

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## 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.

![Screenshot at 00:10: The title slide appears, introducing the talk's theme: "RE-MEMBERING THE FACE: BEAUTY, BELONGING, AND THE ETHICS OF BEING SEEN."](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/8g0TggmM23k/00-00-10.jpg)

**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.

### Introduction and Core Concepts

- The presentation begins by questioning what it means to truly see someone, contrasting the medical focus on fixing anatomy with the deeper need for identity and belonging
- The term "re-membering" is introduced as the process of helping people return to themselves, piece by piece, contrasting it with simply replacing what is missing.

### The Ethics of Beauty

- Beauty is positioned as dignity and belonging, not vanity, especially when the cost of not being seen is existential (life or death)
- The speaker notes that beauty is often dismissed as vanity, and function alone does not define healing.

### Somatic Abolitionism

- Bergenback references Resmaa Menakem's work on Somatic Abolitionism, explaining that societal biases (like the one studied between Black and Blue lives) live in the body's involuntary responses (the flinch)
- Repair must therefore be somatic, involving grounding exercises (hum, breathe, ground, touch, witness) to foster calm presence rather than reaction.

### Call to Practice and Conclusion

- The audience is guided through a brief somatic exercise to feel the body's response to perceived difference, noting that the body's involuntary response (the flinch) is a threat response
- The talk concludes by affirming that when bodies learn to stay present with difference, we begin to restore ourselves, leading to collective flourishing rather than mere survival.

![Screenshot at 00:29: The slide defining the core problem: "SILENCE. OUR HUMANITY REQUIRES ROOTING IN THE GAZE OF ANOTHER."](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/8g0TggmM23k/00-00-29.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:34: The speaker demonstrates the American Sign Language sign for "I Love You," emphasizing that restoration is about identity and belonging, not just anatomy.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/8g0TggmM23k/00-01-34.jpg)
![Screenshot at 02:45: A before-and-after comparison slide showing a person with facial differences \(left\) and the same person wearing prosthetics/glasses \(right\), illustrating the concept of restoration.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/8g0TggmM23k/00-02-45.jpg)
![Screenshot at 04:04: A slide summarizing the speaker's work philosophy: "MY WORK ISN'T ONLY ABOUT REPLACING WHAT'S MISSING. IT'S ABOUT RE-MEMBERING. ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE RETURN TO THEMSELVES, PIECE BY PIECE."](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/8g0TggmM23k/00-04-04.jpg)
![Screenshot at 07:09: A slide introducing the concept of "The Flinch": "SEEING WITHOUT ALARM. WE CANNOT THINK OUR WAY OUT OF WHAT WE MUST FEEL OUR WAY THROUGH."](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/8g0TggmM23k/00-07-09.jpg)