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Dysmorphophobia: From Neuroticism to Psychoticism

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Psychopathology in Women

Abstract

Dysmorphophobia is a concept that challenges psychiatric epistemology. Throughout history, it varied from psychosis to neurosis and from symptoms to syndrome. Throughout the present chapter, we broach the pathoplasty of body dysmorphic disorder according to gender differences in prevalence, analysing its symptoms from a gender-based perspective. Considering a biopsychosocial perspective, we will analyse the main factors surrounding this disorder, taking into account the influence of social gender stereotypes and beauty ideals.

The anthropological investigations and history have brought to light the importance of sociocultural factors surrounding the aesthetic aspects of body image. Since men/women became self-conscious, they had suffered baseless fears about his deformity or ugliness, especially since specular surfaces began to abound.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) or dysmorphophobia is an underdiagnosed disorder characterised by an excessive preoccupation with a perceived physical defect or with an overestimation of the trivial existent one. Interference caused by the symptom is produced; the worries are very time-consuming having a significant impact on the psychosocial functioning of the individual, what distinguishes BDD from ordinary or “physiological” preoccupations with physical appearance.

I am writing as an ugly one for the ugly ones: the old hags, the dykes, the frigid, the unfucked, the unfuckables, the neurotics, the psychos, for all those girls that do not get a look-in in the universal market of the consumable chick.

Virginie Despentes

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute. Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo, Spain

    María Recio-Barbero

  2. University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain

    María Recio-Barbero & Margarita Sáenz-Herrero

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo, Spain

    María Recio-Barbero

  4. Cruces University Hospital, Bilbao, Spain

    Margarita Sáenz-Herrero

  5. Osakidetza, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain

    Batirtze Artaraz-Ocerinjauregui

  6. Osakidetza, Alava, Basque Country, Spain

    Leire Celaya-Viguera

  7. Osakidetza, Guipuzcoa, Basque Country, Spain

    Eider Zuaitz-Iztueta

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  1. María Recio-Barbero
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  3. Batirtze Artaraz-Ocerinjauregui
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  4. Leire Celaya-Viguera
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Correspondence to María Recio-Barbero .

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  1. Cruces University Hospital, University of the Basque Country, Barakaldo, Vizcaya, Spain

    Margarita Sáenz-Herrero

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Recio-Barbero, M., Sáenz-Herrero, M., Artaraz-Ocerinjauregui, B., Celaya-Viguera, L., Zuaitz-Iztueta, E. (2019). Dysmorphophobia: From Neuroticism to Psychoticism. In: Sáenz-Herrero, M. (eds) Psychopathology in Women. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15179-9_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15179-9_13

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