Silencing Socialization Among Spiritual Religious Jewish, Christian Arab, Muslim, and Bedouin Girls in Israel

• In Event: Spirituality in K–12 and Postsecondary Classroom Settings

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the silencing socialization of spiritual religious girls brought up in a transitional society between traditionalism and modernity. Using qualitative in-depth interviews, 20 girls (5 Jewish, 5 Muslim, 5 Christian-Arab and 5 Bedouin) aged 18-25, were examined. The findings show that silencing is embedded in the ideal school graduate. The girls are situated in an ambiguous dichotomic world where they are expected to be confident, proud of their religion and ethnic origin, yet submissive and silenced religious women who repress their “thick desires” (Fine, 1988, 2018 ).

Author

• Zehavit Gross, Bar-Ilan University