This week’s Food for Thought speaker was Dr. Brené Brown, faculty at the Graduate College of Social Work, researcher, and author of the just published book, I Thought It was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame (Gotham, 2007).  Dr. Brown spoke of our shame-based culture where parents often shame their children into behaving (a tactic that allows for immediate results, but with long-term consequences) and women are often shamed when they cannot meet competing and conflicting demands in the realms of motherhood, work, and appearance. 

Dr. Brown has researched shame for over six years and has spoken to over 300 women to identify what are the shame triggers for women (they differ from women to women), how women react to shame (withdraw, feel they are bad people rather than think they made a poor decision), and learn how women can become more shame resilient in their lives (learning to “speak shame,” contexulize their experience, and reach out to connect with others).  The students, staff and faculty gathered to hear Dr. Brown were really impressed with her work and a lively, interactive discussion ensued.