Thinking with Bevereley Skeggs - Stockholms universitet

The ashamed witness – state shamingDue to the risk of inflicting injuries and endangering other roadusers, shame is embedded in the emotional landscape of traffic. TheSwedish Road Administration uses shame as a theme in the pursuitof preventing dangerous driving. The 12–20 page-long Vintergatanmagazine provides road users with a variety of informationrelated to various traffic safety issues for the upcoming winterseason. The article ‘To kill a brother’ is on the very last page, theframing consists of a picture of a younger man, ‘Peder’, sittingby himself by a window looking out. He may have physicallyrecovered from the crash, but his ‘soul is far from healed’.If hell exists I have definitely been there. I am starting to slowly get backon my feet again, but the loss of my brother and the knowledge that Ihave caused his death will always be there. I long to be able to rest andnot to feel anxiety.To use emotions of shame as a threat may be done for a ‘goodcause’, making drivers imagine the shame the witness lives with.The state sends a clear message – you do not want to be in thisguy’s shoes – think rationally and change your driving habits! Incomparison to the examples above this articulation differs in itsframing in all aspects discussed above. This shame is inescapable,you are unable to resist it and not able to impose it on someoneelse because it is imposed by you and no one else but you.Concluding wordsBeverley Skeggs’ workshop has highlighted the importancefor me to encompass emotions and the feeling body whenresearching men, masculinities and dangerous driving in severalaspects. Most importantly, dangerous car driving may violate thesafety of others’ bodily integrity. Therefore, it is interesting toask in what ways gendered shame may ‘do’ dangerous drivers,in what ways it can be restorative and productive to dangerous17