More on Prototypical Male Shame

• Prototypical male shame situations by Heidi L. Eyre, 4/25/98
  
  

Heidi,

I think got you some good answers from Perry. When you mention "Prototypical Male Shame" I tend to think immediately of the "Macho Script" which is thought to be seen commonly in Latino men, but to one degree or another has probably influenced most cultures.

A brief summary of the Macho Script:

The affects of Interest/Excitement and Anger/Rage are considered to be acceptable "male" affects. All the others, and especially Fear/Terror are considered "feminine" and therefor not acceptable for males to feel. The affects labled "feminine" become "shame-bound" for most males in these cultures, and the males are pretty much limited to expressing only the so-called male affects, no matter what they might be responding to.

Donald Mosher worked on this concept with Silvan Tomkins, and you might be interested in the following reference:

Mosher, D. L. & Tomkins, S. S. (1988). Scripting the macho man: Hypermasculine socialization and enculturation. Journal of Sex Research, 25(1), 60-84.

I hope you find this helpful.

• macho aka machismo by Mell Williams, Jr., MA, CAAP-2, 5/18/98