How Shame Impacts Women and Their Self-Concept.
Lindsey M. Watts
Norfolk State University

Introduction
Women have historically had to fight for their rights. When we consider issues like voting, being able to own and inherit property, and work in a variety of jobs, women have struggled to have equal rights. Our society has grown significantly in the acceptance of women in most roles previously considered to be masculine. While equal pay is still an issue it is still better than it used to be. As women have moved into the arena of working outside of the home new issues have emerged. Historically, women have provided the majority of the nurturing and guidance that their families and children needed to thrive. Their self-concept was wrapped up in their success as a mother and a wife. In today’s society women face many new challenges. How to balance working outside of the home with their responsibilities as a mother and a wife has become the focus. This has created new social and community expectations for women. For many women, these new expectations create a tremendous amount of stress and trigger feelings of shame when they are not successful at juggling all the responsibilities.
Etiology of Shame
We all experience shame. It is a universal emotion. Brown (2007) recognized after interviewing many women, that the first step to understanding shame was to define it in terms we can all understand. “Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing we are flawed and therefore unworthy of acceptance and belonging” (Brown, 2007, p. 5). The less we understand shame and how it affects our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors the more power it exerts over our lives (Brown, 2007). Women experience shame on a variety of levels and across all parts of their lives. If women can find the courage to talk about shame and the compassion to listen,