My mom gave me the complex about my nose, and it was reinforced by all of society, so she didn’t need to say much. So when I was six years old, I said, “Mommy, am I pretty?” and she said, “No.” Because I’m not blond, I don’t have blue eyes, and I don’t have a ski-slope nose. And especially my nose bugged the shit out of me because, do you know how much shit is out there about the Jewish nose? How much, like, mockery? And, I was thinking, you know, I’ve started touching my nose recently and saying, “You poor thing. You’re just sitting here to help me breath. And like, all this hatred is on you,” you know?

The Way Home. Video by Shakti Butler with World Trust Educational Services, Inc.

Credit: The Way Home was produced and directed by Shakti Butler, PhD, in conjunction with World Trust Educational Services, Inc.