Reframing Borderline Personality Disorder: A Call for Intersectional Understanding and Destigmatization

A new article reframes BPD through an intersectional and feminist lens to combat stigma and promote social justice.

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Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) remains a highly stigmatized and controversial category within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, particularly as it disproportionately stigmatizes women. While some researchers advocate for its removal from the DSM due to concerns about scientific validity and potential harm to individuals seeking help, Ruofan Ma and Nicole M. Else-Quest from the University of North Carolina instead advocate for a destigmatization approach to support service users with BPD and prevent further stigmatizing others.

In their recent article published in Feminism & Psychology, Ma and Else-Quest argue for a deeper understanding of BPD through the lens of structural oppression and advocate for the incorporation of intersectional approaches to deconstruct the stigma, improve clinical care, and promote social justice. They write:

“Psychological scientists play a uniquely powerful role in the stigmatization and destigmatization of BPD by constructing the meaning of BPD at each step of the research process. We discuss this powerful role and how to destigmatize BPD by incorporating an intersectionality framework that includes disability as a category of difference (as with gender, race, and sexuality). This framework centers the role of systems and structures in creating and maintaining stigma, while emphasizing the close interactions between interpersonal and structural stigma.”

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Ally Riddle
Ally is pursuing a master's in interdisciplinary studies through New York University's XE: Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement. She uses the relationship between anthropology, public health, and the humanities to guide her research. Her current interests lie at the intersection of literature and psychology as a method to reframe the way we think about different mental states and experiences. Ally earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in Biology, Society, & Environment.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Is this psychotic delusion, or delusional psychosis? “This” meaning a belief that so-called “BPD” actually exists! So these clowns want to “destigmatize” something that only “exists” because they THINK it exists! Why not just expose the whole fallacy? So-called “BPD” is exactly as “real” as presents from Santa Claus, but NOT more real! THINK! Was “BPD” invented, created, or discovered? What exactly was it, that was so created? Or discovered? Or invented? Take your pick. And, how myopic is that “lens of structural oppression”? “Intersectional approaches”? Here we see more fantasy on display, intellectual cosplay. It’s fine to talk about ideas, but your ideas are NOT my reality. And your reality is fantasy. If you really want to help people, just stop believing in imaginary “mental illnesses”! Real people have real problems, – we don’t need imaginary problems invented to $ELL DRUG$, and pay therapist’s mortgages!….

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