Exploring the Gender Dimension of Shame in India: An Empirical Study of Shame and Its Gender Implications in the Indian Cultural Context

ShameShame plays a huge role in Indian culture and society. The way shame is processed and expressed has implications, consequences and its benefits. In this mixed methods study, the authors aim to understand gender shaming stylesGender shaming styles in the Indian cultural contextIndian cultural context, as well as its role as a resource. The shame conceptualizationShame conceptualization of 115 male and female Indian individuals (who identified as cisgender) was assessed using the latest version of Nathanson’s Compass of Shame ScaleNathanson’s Compass of Shame Scale, which measures both adaptive and maladaptive styles of shaming and a recalled cultural narrative. The gender analysisGender analysis of maladaptive and adaptive shame patterns demonstrates that women score less in the maladaptive style of shamingMaladaptive style of shaming and score higher on healthy shaming as compared to men. In both genders “Avoidance” is the most used maladaptive shaming style and “attack other” is the least used style. The same trend is observed in the younger (less than 35 years) population of women and men. Interestingly, though in the comparison between the younger and older population (more than 35 years) the gender trendGender trend reverses mostly. The recorded cultural narrativesCultural narratives of stories were categorized into three groups based on their propensity towards forgivenessForgiveness after experiencing shame with relation to transgression—predominantly forgiving, predominantly unforgiving, and dualistic (This group demonstrated the propensity towards both forgiving and unforgiving behaviors). While males scored higher on “forgiving,” a significant number of women were assessed as “dualistic” in nature. The presence of distinct gender trends in adaptive and maladaptive shaming styles and their resources could be indicative of the collectivistic culture and its rigid social role definitionsRigid social role definitions for both the genders.