How Shame Blocks Accountability

Jul 29, 2020

In the age of public callouts, cancel culture, and a preponderance of performative allies, it鈥檚 easy, and often feels justified, to shame others for their ignorance, mistakes, and harm-doing. However, this may not be the best way to get accountability: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e much less likely to get authentic accountability if you鈥檙e shaming someone,鈥� says Nastassja 鈥淪tas鈥� Schmiedt.

Schmiedt and A. Lea Roth are the co-founders of Spring Up, 鈥渁 social enterprise cultivating a culture of consent and liberty for all through storytelling, transformative justice, and popular education.鈥� In this video, they break down the body鈥檚 experience of shame and talk about the role of shame in shutting down accountability and connection.

This video is part of the Building Accountable Communities video series from the Barnard Center for Research on Women. It was produced by Mariame Kaba, Dean Spade, and Hope Dector.

Don鈥檛 miss the first video in this series: What Are Obstacles to Accountability?

Ayu Sutriasa is the digital editor at 猫咪社区!, where she edits stories in the health and wellness beat, in addition to specializing in gender and body politics. She currently lives on unceded Duwamish territory, also known as Seattle, Washington. She speaks English and French. Find more of her writing on .