American society is often characterized as a “guilt culture,” as opposed to non-Western “shame cultures.” But through examples like shaming penalties in criminal law, “fat shaming,” and cyberbullying on the social media, this book shows how and why shame is increasingly invading our lives, leading to feelings of humiliation and depression.

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.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Rise of the Modern Shame Society

Prologue: Guilt Versus Shame

Chapter 1: What Is Shame and What Is Guilt and Which of the Two Is “Better”?

Chapter 2: New Shaming Practices: Back to the Past?

Part I: The Rise of the Western Guilt Society

Chapter 3: The Changing Character of Individualism

Chapter 4: Economic Individualism: Individualism’s “Ugly Face”?

Chapter 5: The “Other-Directed Person”: Conformity Instead of Individualism?

Chapter 6: Joyless Consumption

Chapter 7: Expressive Individualism and Its Holy Grail: “Authenticity”

Part II: Narcissistic Individualism and the Rise of the Modern Shame Society

Chapter 8: How Expressive Individualism Morphed into Narcissism

Chapter 9: The Narcissist’s Pursuit of the Perfect Body

Chapter 10: Narcissism Goes Global

Chapter 11: The Happiness Revolution

Part III: The Development of a New Dialectic: “Old Shame” Versus “New Shame”

Chapter 12: De-Shaming Processes I: Is Racial Shame Becoming “Old Shame”?

Chapter 13: De-Shaming Processes II: De-Shaming of LGBTQI People and People with a Disability

Chapter 14: The Emergence of New Shame I: Fat Shaming

Chapter 15: The Emergence of New Shame II: Hikikomori: The Young Hermits

Conclusion: Respect: What Is It and to Whom Do We Owe It?

Bibliography

About the Author