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Shame culture is a term for a society where children are taught to feel shame for doing wrong. Shame is defined as how a person feels when they have done something wrong and are criticized for it. People feel shame when, after doing something wrong, they see their value in the opinions of those around them go down. In shame cultures, responsibility towards others is important. Responsibility to family and community members creates a collective society where all people know a lot about one another. A collective society is the opposite of an individualistic culture.

Shame cultures are mostly found in countries of East Asia, such as China, Japan, and Korea that have bases in Confucianism. Shame cultures are also found in other Asian countries like Afghanistan and India. Shame societyThe opposite of shame cultures, individualistic cultures, are mostly in the West. In Western culture, in general, people learn to be responsible for their own actions.

Norms and their origins

Shame cultures can be found in countries that have historically followed the teachings of Confucius. Confucius was a Chinese philosopher. He lived and taught during the sixth century BC. Some basic Confucian principals include a sense of duty to one's family, modesty, honesty, knowledge, respectfulness, and morality. In shame cultures, a sense of duty to one's family is important, and children have to keep up the social standing of their entire family. Failing to do so results in a strong sense of shame and hurt feelings because they have let their community down.

Children of shame cultures tend to sometimes act differently from children of other cultures, such as American or European children. Many people know of the stereotype of Chinese children being good students. Children of shame cultures tend to work hard in school and are pushed in the maths and sciences. Because shame cultures respect knowledge so highly, and disappointing the family is such a serious wrong, East Asian children tend to work very hard in school to bring home good grades .

Shame cultures also exist in countries with strong religious presences. In the Middle East, Islam is the main religion practiced. In Islam, collectivism is important and family structure is rigid.

Examples of Shame Cultures

Corruption in South Korea

In 2009, the past president of South Korea, Roo Moo-Hyun, took his own life because of the shame he felt after committing crimes while in office . A suicide that is the result of a deep feeling of shame is often called an [honor suicide].

"I am in debt to so many people. I have caused too great a burden to be placed upon them. I can't begin to fathom the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I am unable to do anything because of poor health. Do not be too sad. Isn't life and death all a part of nature? Do not be sorry. Do not feel resentment toward anyone. It is fate. Cremate me. And leave only a small tombstone near home. I've thought on this for a long time."

— Suicide letter of RooMoo-Hyun

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture is a book written by American Ruth Benedict on Japanese culture. The purpose of the book was to educate Americans during World War II of the differences between Japanese and American culture. The book explains why Japanese fighters and prisoners acted the way they did. For example, Benedict explained that when Japanese prisoners of war did not wish to speak with their families back home, it was because of the shame they felt for letting down their country.

Rape in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, rape is carried out to bring shame to the families of victims. Like East Asian countries, Afghanistan is a collective society, where tribes are like families. When a woman is raped she can no longer be married, which brings shame upon her and her family. For this reason, it is not uncommon for victims of rape to be killed by their families to spare the social standing of the family. Recently this practice has been criticized internationally. A 2011 study found that more than 400,000 women are raped in Afghanistan every year.

See Also

• Anthropology
• Culture
• Globalization
• Sociology

References:

Note 1: Sources here may not be written in Simple English.

More Reading

• Bedford, Olwen A. (2004) The individual experience of guilt and shame in Chinese culture, Culture Psychology 10:29

• Benedict, Ruth. (1946) The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Pattern of Japanese Culture. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-50075-3

• Cultural Anthropology