Turning around a lifetime of taunts, Ontario woman takes on CNN

After a lifetime of taunts and wide-eyed stares, a Waterloo, Ont. woman has stepped into the spotlight as a defender of those who share her experience of ridicule due to what she calls “a facial difference.”

Penny Loker was born with medical conditions that left her face malformed. And in the years since, she has endured a stream of taunts and insults that she is “ugly” or a “freak.”

She decided to speak out on her own and others’ behalf, however, after she saw a photo gallery posted to CNN.com that included a viewer discretion warning because the images showed children in Vietnam left disfigured by the chemical Agent Orange.

"There wasn't any blood or gore or anything like that,” Loker, 31, told CTV News. “I think they just thought, ‘Well, we’re going to slap a label on it because people are going to look at these kids and think there's something wrong with them.’”

Loker was born with two birth defects that left her face malformed.

“When I was born, the top of my upper jaw was in two pieces,” Loker said.

At home, Loker was treated with the same love and affection as her older sister. But when she went to school, Loker was taunted, teased and excluded.

"Mostly what I got was ugly and horrible and you look like a freak,” Loker said. "It sucked. It wasn't easy."

For years, her only friend was her sister, who was just one grade ahead of her at school. But now, even with a full-time job, a close circle of supportive friends, and the love of her family, Loker acknowledges that she is missing out on some major life experiences as a result of what she calls her “facial differences.”

“Unfortunately I've not been on one date,” Loker said. “Never."

While she struggles with being in public alone because of the taunts and “second glances” she constantly endures, her anger at the photo gallery warning spurred her to email the U.S. broadcaster.

“It was horribly offensive to me,” Loker said. Her plea led the broadcaster to change the warning, and has led her to become a public face and voice for others.

“I just want people to know that it's ok to be different,” Loker said. “And if you see something that's different you should embrace it."

With a report from CTV’s John Vennavally-Rao

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  After a lifetime of taunts and wide-eyed stares, a Waterloo, Ont. woman has stepped into the spotlight as a defender of those who share her experience of ridicule due to what she calls 'a facial difference.'

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  A young Penny Loker smiles for the camera in this family photograph.