Think back over your life to a time when you were shamed. Perhaps a parent disciplined you publicly and other children teased you about it. Maybe you were falsely accused of cheating in school and unjustly punished. Perhaps your reputation was marred in some way and you had to live it down. Maybe you did something wrong but were improperly corrected and have carried the embarrassment of your actions ever since.
Shame always results in a loss of dignity.
Each individual is born with a sense of personhood which, if properly nurtured, will instinctively help him or her make the right life choices. There are many unbelievers who are basically moral people due to the fact they have chosen to keep their dignity and were fortunate enough to avoid abuse during their formative years. Some, however, were needlessly shamed in early life and grew up with a sense of loss about their personhood. There are many masculine women in our society whose personhood was not properly nurtured during childhood. Another way children are shamed is when they are told they are stupid, dumb, etc.