How do men construct and make sense of shame and respectability in the context of intimate partner violence? In the past decade, research on men and masculinities in Ghana has received a considerable scholarly attention. Despite the growing scholarly investment, there is insufficient understanding of men’s perceptions of shame and respectability, and how these are linked to intimate partner violence. This gap in knowledge undermines a deeper appreciation of the contextual nuances that underpin men’s everyday performances of masculinity, especially in conjugal relationships. Drawing on interviews with men in Ghana, this study highlights how men tend to use social language around shame and respectability to explain and sometimes normalize men's abusive practices and behaviours. The findings highlight how research on men and masculinities in Ghana may offer critical reflections on re-imagining Afro-Caribbean representations of gendered subjectivities.