Gender segregation in the friendship networks of Muslim youth in Germany: the role of chastity norms

Journal article

Western Muslim youth engage less in romantic relationships than their non-Muslim peers, an observation usually attributed to chastity norms that oppose Muslim youths’ premarital sexual activity. In this study, I ask whether chastity norms also shape cross-gender interaction beyond romantic relationships and lead to fewer cross-gender friendships among Muslim than non-Muslim youth. To isolate the consequences of chastity norms from institutionalized practices of gender segregation in Muslim religious communities, I study friendship-making in German coeducational schools, which provide ample opportunities for cross-gender friendships. I apply multilevel exponential random graph models to large-scale data on adolescents’ school-based friendship networks, finding cross-gender friendships to be generally infrequent but notably rarer among Muslim than non-Muslim youth. However, this lack of cross-gender friendships is limited to Muslim youth who hold strong chastity norms, while more liberal Muslim youth have as many cross-gender friends as non-Muslims. Among non-Muslims, chastity norms are unrelated to cross-gender friendships.

Authors: Kretschmer, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Journal: Ethnic and Racial Studies
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 123-149
• Publication date: 2024-09-10
• Acceptance date: 2024-08-22
• DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2024.2399725
• EISSN: 1466-4356
• ISSN: 0141-9870
• Language: English
• Keywords: religion; Muslim; gender; friendship; cross-gender; norms