The yellow badge that Jews were required to wear in parts of Europe during the Middle Ages, and later in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe, was intended to be a badge of shame. The term may also refer to other identifying marks that are associated with shame. The biblical "Mark of Cain" can be interpreted as synonymous with a badge of shame. The term is also used metaphorically, especially in a pejorative sense, to characterize something associated with a person or group as shameful.
Punitive depilation of men, especially burning off pubic hair, was intended as a mark of shame in ancient cultures[which?] where male body hair was valued. Women who committed adultery have also been forced to wear specific icons or marks, or had their hair shorn, as a badge of shame throughout history. Many women who fraternized with the occupiers in German–occupied Europe had their heads shaved by angry mobs of their peers after liberation by the Allies of World War II.
Punitive depilation of men, especially burning off pubic hair, was intended as a mark of shame in ancient cultures[which?] where male body hair was valued. Women who committed adultery have also been forced to wear specific icons or marks, or had their hair shorn, as a badge of shame throughout history. Many women who fraternized with the occupiers in German–occupied Europe had their heads shaved by angry mobs of their peers after liberation by the Allies of World War II.