‘Rather than glancing at me, people would look at my face for three or four seconds’

RORY MCGUIRE, 24, is a personal adviser for a health-insurance company. He was born with a birthmark on his face. In 2016 he underwent an operation to have 85 per cent of it removed.

‘In my selfie I’m smiling and it shows that, yes, I’ve got a visible difference and I’ve been through a lot of stuff – but because of that, I’m a stronger person.

‘I feel so different to when I was a teenager; then I was very low and didn’t like going out in public. Rather than glancing at me, people would look at my face for a whole three or four seconds, which is a lot longer than you would a normal person, and you become very conscious of them doing it. That is not nice to experience.

‘I was 22 when I posted for the first time on social media about growing up with my birthmark – it was shared worldwide on Facebook. A few newspapers wrote articles about me and I was interviewed on a Scottish television show. That gave me the boost that changed everything.

‘I think it’s important to remember that nobody who has a visible difference chose to have it. In my case, it was something that I was born with, so it’s not fair to judge someone based on something that is out of their control.’