Dermatology Association says stop wrongly calling out monkeypox online
The British Association of Dermatology (BAD) has issued a statement in response to the increasing circulation of imagery being shared online of people with skin conditions, wrongfully being accused of spreading the monkeypox virus.
“It is concerning to see pictures of people with rashes or skin conditions go viral due to thoughtless speculation about monkeypox. It adds to the stigma around the disease, which is enormously unhelpful; it is also the sort of thing that adds to the psychological burden of people living with a visible skin condition,” President of the British Association of Dermatologists, Dr Mabs Chowdhury.
One video of a woman on a New York subway recently went viral on Tik Tok and Instagram after someone filmed her exposed arms and legs and captioned it with a monkey emoji followed by a question mark
“I saw the video and I knew people like me would see it,” said Lilly Simon, 33. She has a condition called neurofibromatosis, which produces benign tumours all over her body.
Simon had no idea about the video until her sister called her after having seen it. She has since responded with her own video describing years of stares and hurtful comments by people due to her skin condition.
In an interview, Simon said that the experience made her feel small, powerless and insignificant.
@lillysmallsz #stitch with @fuckinfrass i have taken screen shots of the comments will be posting them…everyywhereee. For those of you who were kind thank u. Youre fine. When someone does a background search/google search on yall… theyll see who you really are.do you talk to your colleagues like this? Your patrons?#nf1warrior💚💙 #nf1awareness #nf1fighter #bodyshaming #bodypositivity #streetharrassment ♬ Oh No - Kreepa
“It is important for people with skin conditions to be able to go about their life normally, without fear of being publicly shamed,” added Chowdhury.
“As dermatologists, our message to patients is to not let their condition stop them from doing the things that they love.”
Monkeypox, which causes fever, headaches and raised spots that eventually turn into painful blisters, has now been declared a public health emergency in the US.
Therefore it’s unsurprising that people are concerned and even panicked about the virus, especially whilst we are still trying to reach endemicity with Covid-19, which caused global death and chaos.
But, that’s still not an excuse to take pictures of people without their permission in order to thoughtlessly shame them for the medical conditions they live with.
“It’s simple: don’t take pictures of people with visible skin conditions in public, don’t speculate about their health, and don’t contribute to the stigma around monkeypox specifically and rashes more generally,” said Chowdhury.
