Abstract: The 1980s is a significant breaking point as it was a period when Turkey adopted a new economic model and underwent a radical change with the market-centered value judgments built around this model. The change in the perception of what is valuable and the sources of social prestige constitutes the most important dimension in the reflection of this breaking point on individuals. This change is intertwined with the unlimited desire and demand for visibility that accompanies the rise of the culture of entrepreneurship and consumption. As the bearers of this demand, “lifestyle” maga- zines undertake the task of representing and constructing the components of the ideal middle-class subject as well as the changing values of the period. This article discusses the effect of changing value judgments on emotions through the emotion of shame, by addressing the discourse that determines these components. Certain types of shame as a reflection of prestige hierarchies make it possible to conduct this discussion around the class. In this respect, this article traces the social change through a class discussion in which culture, values and subjective dimensions are included by making use of the possibilities of critical discourse analysis of journals and cultural class analysis.

Keywords: shame, sociology of emotions, middle class, class feelings, the 1980s, critical discourse analysis