From Shame to Normal through Proud

From Weekly I/O#64


The shortest path to transfer from shame to normalcy is through pride.

Podcast: Kunal Shah: Core Human Motivations [The Knowledge Project Ep. #141]

The fastest way to make somebody feel okay about what they're ashamed of is to make them feel proud about it. Take the LGBTQ+ movement of embracing gay pride, for instance. By encouraging people to take pride in aspects of themselves that were historically stigmatized, society works towards dismantling harmful stigmas and promoting acceptance and inclusiveness.

This notion of turning shame into pride is also relevant in conversations surrounding body image. For example, the body positivity movement aims to counteract body shaming by advocating people should be proud of their diverse body types. It's a hack that you can make people not feel ashamed about certain things by saying, "You have to be very proud of this."

This reminds me of #29.3, where the philosopher Georg Hegel observed that The world progresses by lurching from one extreme to another while overcompensating for previous mistakes.


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