This Sunday, June 25, 2017 is World Vitiligo Day. This relatively common autoimmune disease (it would affect between 0.5% and 2% of the world’s population and approximately 1% of the French population) is manifested by the appearance of white spots on the skin. It affects both men and women, adults and children.
Specifically, people who suffer from vitiligo produce abnormal antibodies that directly attack the melanocytes and block their action, thus preventing melanogenesis (or production of melanin). Result: hypopigmented patches form all over the body, especially in friction areas – hands, elbows, knees, feet… Some people may also have “localized vitiligo” – on a hand, leg or foot only.
Photos against prejudice
If vitiligo is neither contagious, nor painful, nor even dangerous for health (people affected are “only” covered with white spots), this autoimmune pathology nevertheless has a significant psychological impact: moreover, a 2009 American study (conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information) showed that the self-esteem of patients with vitiligo was deteriorated.
To fight against prejudice, Australian photographer Brock Elbank has chosen to produce a series of portraits around vitiligo. Interviewed by the ID site, one of his models explains: “some people have more singular physique than others, having different hair, marks on their body, or even freckles… But in each case, each person is unique. To accept yourself, you don’t necessarily have to have something as visible as vitiligo. Love everything you have! Beauty is a mixture of qualities that make you unique, both outside and inside. A resolutely body positive message…
You can find the other portraits of Brock Elbank on Instagram – the photographer has 84,000 subscribers.
To read :
Unusual: she turns her vitiligo into a work of art
Vitiligo: a still poorly understood disease
Skin diseases: is the sun good?
