as it turns out i have done a few inquiries on BDD and Michael Jackson. Below are some of the questions i put to a colleague doing her dissertation on BDD.

“i, and many african americans, have always assumed MJ’s skin lightening, straightened hair (or wigs) and multiple face reconstructions were obvious manifestations of racism–of mike trying his best to comply with white aesthetic and racial norms. but a friend [she suggested that MJ had BDD]…how does BDD account or control for “normative” ideas that are the legacy of white supremacy? many black americans, myself included, struggle with imposed categories of beauty. black women, for example, have internalized white female hair standards as “normal.” If Michelle Obama is pressing her hair routinely to meet a white aesthetic is that compulsive or pathological? Where is the diagnostic line drawn for black patients? Indeed can it be drawn w/out some how incorporating the backstory of race and racism in America?”

Here are a few things i learned from a colleague doing BDD research:

1. BDD is not well studied as of yet. Its a relatively new field.
2. As far as I can tell psychologists typically think of BDD something beyond racism. It is not, however, uncommon for BDD to have a racial component (she mentioned for example a BDD sufferer obsessed with their “Jewish nose.”) Because research on BDD is in its infancy, there is very no data on the intersection of cultural normes or “internalized racism” and BDD.
3. MJ was never actually diagnosed w/BDD. It requires and consultation w/ a professional clinician. But two psychologists I consulted were confident that he suffered from BDD was not simply “trying to be white.”
4. Diagnosing BDD is ultimately a subjective decision of the clinician but the symptoms are so severe that its reasonably straightforward to diagnose.

I have been referred to a clinician who is actually doing research on the intersection of racism and BDD but I have not had time to follow up as of yet. kzs