The term "authoritarian" describes an individual who believes that one person, group, organization, system, or government has absolute power and authority. It is commonly used in political science to describe totalitarian regimes, but it can also refer to the beliefs of individuals. In recent years, psychologists have become increasingly interested in how these beliefs develop and are passed down through generations. One theory suggests that people may develop authoritarian beliefs because they feel ashamed about their sexual desires. This shame can lead them to internalize values that reinforce the status quo and punish those who break social norms.
To understand this link between sexual desire and authoritarian values, we need to consider how shame works. Shame is a negative emotion that arises when someone feels like they have failed to meet society's standards or expectations. It is often experienced as an intense sense of humiliation or embarrassment. When people experience shame, they may try to hide their feelings and avoid situations that trigger them. They may also blame others for causing the feeling, leading to aggression towards those who challenge societal norms.
Shame can arise from many sources, including sexuality.
Some cultures view certain types of sex or relationships as immoral, and anyone who engages in them may be shamed by family members, religious leaders, or society at large. People who feel this kind of shame may develop a fear of being rejected or ostracized if they express their desires, which can lead them to conform to traditional views on sex.
This conformity becomes internalized and leads to authoritarian beliefs about sexual morality.
In addition to shaming people who deviate from traditional sexual norms, eroticism can also be associated with other taboo topics such as race, class, gender, religion, politics, and more. Those who are shamed for these reasons may also adopt authoritarian beliefs as a way to protect themselves from further shame. By accepting the dominant ideology, they can rationalize their own exclusion from it and distance themselves from stigmatizing identities.
Authoritarian beliefs may be passed down through generations. Children who grow up in families with strict values may learn to punish themselves for any deviation from those values, creating a cycle of shame and self-punishment. This can lead to the development of rigid ideas about right and wrong, which are then reinforced by external factors like media and political rhetoric.
There is a complex relationship between psychological mechanisms and the internalization of authoritarian values. Shame plays an important role in this process, as does the broader social context that creates shame around certain types of behavior. Understanding how these factors interact can help us better understand why some individuals embrace authoritarian beliefs, even when doing so goes against their interests.
What psychological mechanisms link erotic shame to the internalization of authoritarian values?
The psychological mechanisms linking erotic shame to the internalization of authoritarian values can be explained through two theories. The first theory is that of psychodynamic perspective, which states that people who experience erotic shame are likely to have issues with their sexuality and identity due to repressed feelings, which leads them to seek external sources of validation by conforming to rigid social norms and beliefs.