Rise of the Shame Society (eBook)

America's Change from a Guilt Culture into a Shame Culture

Marcel H. Van Herpen (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022
234 Seiten
Lexington Books (Verlag)
978-1-6669-1469-6 (ISBN)

Infos

American society is often characterized as a ';guilt culture,' as opposed to non-Western ';shame cultures.' But is this distinction still valid today? Through examples like shaming penalties in criminal law, ';fat shaming,' and cyberbullying on the social media, The Rise of the Shame Society: America's Change from a Guilt Culture into a Shame Culture shows how shame is increasingly invading our lives, leading to feelings of humiliation and depression. Marcel Van Herpen identifies three causes of this phenomenon: new childrearing methods, the advent of the social media, and a transformation of Western individualism. He weighs the arguments for and against a shame society and concludes that a guilt-centered approach remains preferable. Although shame increasingly permeates everyday life, the author argues that its rise is not a fatality. He emphasizes that shame is a dynamic phenomenon and that one can observe trends which lead to an increase of shame, as well as to its decrease. Examples of the latter are a growing sensitivity to the pain caused by anti-Black racism, the decrease of anti-LGBTQIA+ prejudices, and efforts to end the stigmatization of people with disabilities. Along with exploring its increase, The Rise of the Shame Society demonstrates that there are ways to overcome shame.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.7.2022
• Zusatzinfo: 2 Illustrations including: - 1 Black & White Illustrations; - 1 Tables.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Medienwissenschaft
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
• Schlagworte: American Society • Conscience • Disabilities • fat shaming • Guilt • Individualism • LGBTQIA+ community • Narcissism • respect • Shame
• ISBN-10: 1-6669-1469-X / 166691469X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-6669-1469-6 / 9781666914696