Robert Hoge on personal choice
From Own your face | Robert Hoge | TEDxSouthBank · · TEDx Talks
“My parents said, 'Now, Robert, you're 14, you're almost an adult. It's your choice; if you want to have this surgery, great; if you don't, great.' I was a grade-9 boy and didn't know how to make this decision.”
On , Robert Hoge, General Counsel & Chief Wind-Down Officer at BOWFLEX INC, spoke about personal choice during Own your face | Robert Hoge | TEDxSouthBank on TEDx Talks.
About Robert Hoge
Robert Hoge, author of the memoir "Ugly" and a former political advisor, has spoken publicly about his experiences with facial deformities and the concept of "owning" one's face. In a 2015 TEDx talk, Hoge described being born with a massive tumor on his face that pushed his eyes to the sides of his head, and having a nose reconstructed from one of his deformed toes during childhood. He stated that the biggest obstacle to people owning their faces is "us disowning them when we ogle a photoshopped magazine cover" or "click on the link promising celebrity photos without makeup." Hoge argued that "owning is choosing" and encouraged people to "choose to accept your face, choose to appreciate your face." In a 2014 interview, Hoge discussed his relationship with beauty, saying he believes there is an aesthetic standard by which people can be classified as ugly, but that "there's nothing wrong with beauty." He noted that his mother initially rejected him after his birth, but that his siblings voted to bring him home. Hoge recounted that at age 14, his parents gave him the choice of whether to undergo further surgery, and he decided against it. He said he still finds it difficult when his wife tells him she thinks he is beautiful, but understands "that it's real for her and that's the important thing."