Description
Book SynopsisShame strikes at the heart of human individuals rupturing relationships, extinguishing joy and, at times, provoking conflict and violence. This book explores the idea that shame has historically been, and continues to be, used by an oftentimes patriarchal Christian Church as a mechanism to control and regulate female sexuality and to displace men's ambivalence about sex.
Using a study of Ireland's Magdalen laundries as a historical example, contemporary feminist theological and theoretical scholarship are utilised to examine why the Church as an institution has routinely colluded with the shaming of individuals, and moreover why women are consistently and overtly shamed on account of, and indeed take the blame for, sex. In addition, the text asks whether the avoidance of shame is in fact functional in men's efforts to adhere to patriarchal gender norms and religious ideals, and whether women end up paying the price for the maintenance of this system
Trade Review
"This work is mandatory to anyone looking to study religion on the island of Ireland; anyone engaging with state control of citizen’s bodies; anyone looking at collusion between institutional churches and state governments; and anyone engaging with shame research."
- Kristen Nielsen Donnelly, Independent Scholar
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 Overview
2 Towards an Understanding of Shame
3 Shame: Affect and Emotion
4 Shaming the Feminine
5 Embodied Shame
6 Sexual Ambivalence: Why Men Shame Women about Sex
7 Shame and Transgressive Female Sexuality in Ireland
8 Reforming the Feminine: The Magdalen Laundries
Conclusion
