From Shame to Success: Recharacterising shame in the context of social movements about gender, consent, and sexual assault

Abstract

What makes a social movement successful? In particular, what makes social movements that work to make change around gendered issues like sexual assault successful? Some philosophers have argued that shame is a necessary moral emotion for social movement success. I find that these thinkers tend to oversimplify some of the less useful, gendered parts of shame. In my thesis I examine the tension between shame as a force for positive social change and shame as a regulatory mechanism for maintaining gender roles and preventing survivors of sexual assault from speaking about their experiences. By looking at the social movement Teach Us Consent and how it successfully changed consent education for all students from K-10 in Australia, I argue we need to recharacterise our understanding of shame to form a more nuanced, gendered approach.