Shame on You: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification

Journalist Petro debuts with an uneven exploration of shame that draws on her personal experience and interviews with women about their “self-conscious feelings and fears of inadequacy.” In 2010, Petro, who was then working as a teacher, came under fire from the New York City Department of Education for writing articles about having been a sex worker (she resigned in 2011). Using the “unrelenting humiliation” that followed as a springboard, she discusses how patriarchal society wields shame against girls and women. Among the topics covered are such conflicting messages as “be flirty, but not too flirty,” the stigmatization of sex work, and how the news media disempowers women with “deliberately irresponsible, undeniably wrong” coverage. As an example of the latter, she cites Amanda Knox, who was framed as a “character” in news stories about her 2007 murder trial and in movies “recreating how she might’ve committed the crime.” The second half of the book aims to teach women how to identify and overcome their shame. Unfortunately, Petro’s suggestions feel flimsy in the face of the structural issues she identifies, as when she encourages readers to “raise our own and each other’s critical awareness about the fact that” most household labor falls to women. While the interspersed bits of autobiography are vivid, the overall effect is unfocused. The result is an intriguing but undercooked analysis of a complex emotion. (Sept.)

This review has been updated for clarity.