People are almost always encouraged to change themselves to meet media and advertising standards. There are few who see nothing wrong in a person because of his natural appearance; however, those few usually don't have the same impact as those that cause such insecurities. There is so much about the human condition in “The Birthmark” that is still relevant to modern society, even though this story was written 150-200 years ago. You might say it's sad that things like this are still a problem; perhaps even more of a problem than before, with people obsessed with perfection. There is one comfort though; the number of those who see nothing wrong with physical diversity is growing. Maybe one day the story "The Birthmark" will no longer exist