dianthus wrote:
I know it seems like either Princess Diana or Marilyn Monroe might fit the criteria for borderline personality disorder. And they both had childhoods that could have set the stage for that. But they also both ended up in pretty unusual life circumstances in adulthood that could push any normal person act out. Both were handpicked to become the consorts of male leaders and I believe neither of them really had much choice in the matter.
Marilyn aka Norma Jeane was forced to drop out of high school at age 16 to have an arranged marriage. She figured out soon enough she didn't want to be a housewife and got a divorce. That was a very bold move to make at that time - or even now it might take of lot of courage for someone of her background to walk away from a secure life and go out on her own like that. She was very intelligent, but uneducated, and had few options for a career other than modeling and acting. Young models and actresses were frequently called upon to service politicians, and were told in no uncertain terms that if they did not comply, they might as well forget having a career. The Kennedys had a very long line of mistresses at their disposal, and some were indeed brutally disposed of in one way or another. Marilyn was chosen early on to be their call girl and they treated her like garbage.
Her biggest life choices were strong and gutsy and favored rebellion and independence. She divorced DiMaggio right away after he hit her, and she put her career on the line for Miller when he was up against the Hollywood blacklist. She walked away from the studio system and as a form of protest, started her own production company, which was totally unheard of at the time. By all accounts she was planning to go to the press and expose the Kennedys right before she died. It's sad that she is remembered as a desperate, clinging woman who took an overdose, and so obvious who was served the most by portraying her that way.
In Diana's case, once she was engaged to Prince Charles she pretty much lost all autonomy over her own life and she had to fight for years to just gain back some semblance of it. It was made clear to her very early on that her marriage was a total sham and she was expected to maintain the sham and the image of the fairytale princess no matter what. The royal family treated her like a slave, or prisoner, depending on the day. Who wouldn't crack up living the kind of life she had?
Again I understand why either of these women might have appeared to be a borderline. But I think labeling either of them as such, is kind of like saying that a Holocaust victim had an eating disorder.
You make some extremely good points here, particularly regarding the bizarre situations that both Diana and Marilyn Monroe were effectively forced into. On the other hand, there should be no stigma attached to them having borderline personality disorder (if that was indeed what they had), any more than someone with an ASC should be stigmatised.
Personality disorders (and I have a diagnosis of BPD myself) tend to be caused by a combination of unusual brain functioning and external environment in early life, so, given their family and social backgrounds, both women could easily have had BPD. The fact that this or any other mental condition might be regarded as denigrating illustrates how society is still disinclined to accept neurodiversity, or indeed diversity in general.
27 Apr 2016, 12:07 pm
