I've noticed a common belief among BPD forums/blogs is that people with BPD are inherently more physically attractive. Some people suggested that people with BPD might be highly attractive because attractive children tend to be invalidated. As the "theory" goes, among those attractive children that were invalidated, those with an emotional vulnerability would go on to develop BPD.

The post led me to Google physical attractiveness and BPD, and the results are to the contrary. Attractiveness in children is actually linked to increased social functioning. According to a research article titled "Early predictors of emerging features of borderline personality disorder in adolescence"

[quote]Attractive children were also judged to be better adjusted, and more interpersonally competent than less attractive children (Langlois et al., 2000).[/quote]

In fact, as an adult with BPD, physical attractiveness in women is actually one of the factors correlated with a better prognosis:

-unusual artistic talent
-physical attractiveness (women only)
-obsessive-compulsive features that enhance self-discipline, work-orientation, and the ability to structure leisure time