“You Don’t Want to Be One of Those stories” Gossip and Shame as Instruments of Social Control in Small Communities

Abstract

ABSTRACT Small, tight-knit communities often have the image of being places that are full of gossip and where everybody knows each other’s business. This closeness can be claustrophobic for individuals who might not want to live by the accepted social norms of the community. Gossip and rumours can be used to keep such individuals in their place by enforcing social norms through social control. Shaming is crucial to this form of social control, where certain behaviour is punished and shamed through the spread of gossip. Shaming is gendered and is used more harshly against women than against men, particularly in regard to women’s behaviour in public and their sexual activity. This paper examines how gossip and shame are a part of gendered social control in small villages/towns in Iceland, and how it affects young women’s lives. The discussion here is based on interviews about gossip with young Icelandic women who either live in or come from small fishing villages. The main themes that were constructed from the analysis were the social control of women through shaming, reputation, and slut-shaming. The analysis shows that slut-shaming and the fear of shame control women’s behaviour and sexual activities.