Though not linguistically connected, “cursed” is associated with “binding,” and “blessing” is associated with “releasing.”
When the ground is cursed and Adam is told he will return to it, we are given imagery of him being bound to the earth, unable to rise above it. He is mortal.
When Adam and Eve are blessed, they are told to be fruitful and multiply: to increase, to spread out.
When the serpent is cursed, we are told that he will crawl on his belly, also tying him to the earth. His head will be crushed.
When Noah and his sons are blessed in Gen 9, the next chapter is the Table of Nations, showing them released to be fruitful and multiply.
So what of Ham’s son Canaan? When Noah (not God) curses Canaan in Gen 9, what is being bound? What is restricted to prevent it from getting out of hand, like a weed in a garden?
I suspect what God is cursing is our shame.
This nakedness Ham sees in Genesis 9:22 is tied to the shame and nakedness Adam and Eve see in Genesis 3:7, when they covered themselves in FIG leaves.
The Gospels tell us something about FIG leaves on a tree that bears no fruit.
Now in the early morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves alone; and He *said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
Matthew 21:18-19
One day, God will curse and bind the Fig Tree that we keep using to cover our shame. He’ll cause that tree to wither so there are no more leaves to grab, and then we’ll have to stand face to face with God, who will cover our nakedness with something far greater.