Question

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) remains one of the more controversial of the psychological diagnostic labels. The large majority of individuals diagnosed with BPD are women and a number of authors suggest the diagnosis is sexist and reflects a male-dominated outlook on personality functioning (Herman, 1997; Zanarini, 1997). Other authors point out that there are a significantly large percentage of those diagnosed with BPD who have a history of childhood sexual abuse (Van der Kolk et al., 2006; Courtois et al., 2009). These authors suggest that BPD may be better conceptualized as a complex form of posttraumatic stress disorder (Herman, 1999; Courtois et al., 2009).

What are your thoughts on the matter? Is BPD a pejorative diagnosis? Is it sexist? Or is it a constellation of characteristic symptoms that accurately reflects a distinct personality type?

Answer 1

In my view, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has over the years, has acquired a pejorative reputation due to how it is portrayed in mainstream media and the lack of awareness surrounding it. In itself, the term does not necessarily discriminate between sexes. Eating disorders are also more prevalent among women in comparison to men, but because its symptoms are not as dramatic as that of BPD, no questions about it being a valid diagnosis are raised, The disorder does reflect a set of symptoms that define a maladaptive personality type and in its itself is value neutral. Any deprecatory judgments that are made with respect to this illness is because how we, as a society, conceptualize it.