The Rule of Virginity Among Young Women of Maghrebine Origin in France

Interviews conducted with young women of Maghrebine origin in France show that norms of virginity represent a central means by which women negotiate Maghrebine-French identity and handle intergenerational relations. From the legacy of the colonial era to the current interethnic context, notions of v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transcultural psychiatry 2010-04, Vol.47 (2), p.301-313
Main Authors: Skandrani, Sara, Baubet, Thierry, Taïeb, Olivier, Rezzoug, Dalila, Moro, Marie Rose
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Adolescent
Adult
Africa, Northern - ethnology
Childhood, adolescence
Colonialism
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology
Ethnology
Family. Family relations
Female
Females
France
Humans
Identity
Intergenerational Relations
Intergenerational Relations - ethnology
Islam - psychology
Life cycle an individual status
Norms
Prejudice
Sexual Abstinence - ethnology
Sexual Behavior
Sexuality - ethnology
Sexuality - psychology
Social Identification
Social structure and social relations
Social Values
Social Values - ethnology
Symbolism
Traditional moral codes, legal frameworks
Virginity
Young Adult
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Summary:Interviews conducted with young women of Maghrebine origin in France show that norms of virginity represent a central means by which women negotiate Maghrebine-French identity and handle intergenerational relations. From the legacy of the colonial era to the current interethnic context, notions of virginity have played a significant role, in both official French discourse, and in the parental transmission of social values across generations. Standards of virginity stand as symbolic markers of women’s identity positioning. Yet, women also reinterpret, transform and appropriate codes of virginity according to life experience and situational context.
ISSN:1363-4615
1461-7471
DOI:10.1177/1363461510368920