Monki Tackles Altered Imagery in Social Media in Partnership with BDDF

Health & Well-being

SWEDEN—In a fresh initiative, Scandinavian fashion brand Monki forges significant partnership with the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation to raise awareness around body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a distressing psychological condition where a person becomes very preoccupied with one or more features in their physical appearance.

BDD, affecting about 1 in 50 today, is largely overlooked and undiagnosed, primarily propelling The BDD Foundation’s work to focus on information, early diagnosis, and support in combating the disorder.

Image courtesy of Monki.

The BDD Foundation supported by Monki, will commence with a petition directed at the EU Parliament calling for transparency on altered images on social media. This would push for changes to ensure that organizations, companies, including influencers, will then be legally required to state when images have been manipulated for paid content online. Tapping into an already important and ongoing movement in recent years, changes in law have already been set in motion in Norway and France.

“One important part of the BDD Foundation’s work is to remind people not to compare themselves to others. Altered images can affect our body image, triggering body dissatisfaction and exacerbating BDD symptoms. We see this petition as a vital tool for approaching the EU Parliament to raise questions and drive real change.”, says Kitty Wallace, Head of Operations at the BDD Foundation.

Kitty Wallace, Head of Operations at the BDD Foundation. Image courtesy of Monki.

Dr. Rob Willson, Chair of Trustees at the BDD Foundation. Image courtesy of Monki.

Joining Wallace is Dr. Rob Willson, who is a Cognitive Behavior Therapist with a special interest in obsessional problems, having co-authored the self-help book, Overcoming Body Image Problems including BDD, with David Veale and Alex Clarke. With this particular advocacy, Dr. Willson first became involved in research on BDD 20 years ago. At present, he then divides his time between private practice and conducting research on improving the understanding and treatment of BDD.

For Monki, the partnership with the BDD Foundation permeates perfectly into the brand’s purpose, with an ever-important mission of empowering young women to feel good about themselves, just the way they are. Diverse casting, transparent retouch guidelines and #nofilter campaigns are some of the brand’s work to support this mission.

Jennie Dahlin Hansson, Managing Director at Monki. Image courtesy of Monki.

“Monki is a purpose-driven fashion brand, and together with our community, partners and collaborators we want to be part of driving change in the world. We believe we have the responsibility to use our global platform for good, and we are very proud to be partnering up with the BDD Foundation and supporting their important work”, says Jennie Dahlin Hansson, Managing Director at Monki.

Monki will use their digital channels to share information and educational materials with their community about body dysmorphic disorder.

Images courtesy of Monki.

More info about BDD and the petition can be found on monki.com and on bddfoundation.org.