Gender and ethnocentrism in borderlands: how southern Spanish girls and boys represent the moroccan "other"

Tina Tordjman–Nebe

Independent researcher. E–mail: tina.nebe@eui.eu

Envío a dictamen: 17 de noviembre de 2009.
Aprobación: 26 de febrero de 2010.

Abstract

Research in the interdisciplinary field of borderstudies and in the social psychology of intergroup relations has come to inconclusive results with regards to ethnocentrism in borderlands. Do borders function primarily as passageways that foster contact and the recognition of similarities between "us" and "them", ultimately leading to a hybridisation of identities? Or does life at a border rather incite differentiation and hostility between neighbouring groups ? By contrasting female and male voices, this paper investigates how 100 adolescents in Algeciras (Southern Spain) make sense of the presence of the moroccan "Other" in their life–spaces. Via focus group interviews, a questionnaire and word association games, we captured the young people's social representations of their Moroccan neighbours and analysed these from a meso– or group–level perspective using a mixed methods approach. We find that levels and patterns of hostility towards Moroccans are strikingly different between boys and girls.

Keywords: ethnocentrism, gender, social representations, borderlands, mixed methods.

Resumen

La investigación en el campo interdisciplinar de los estudios fronterizos y en psicología social sobre las relaciones intergrupales ha obtenido resultados inconcluyentes respecto al etnocentrismo en tales zonas. ¿Funcionan las fronteras principalmente como pasos que originan el contacto y el reconocimiento de semejanzas entre "nosotros" y "ellos" en última instancia conduciendo a un hibridización de identidades? ¿O más bien la vida en una frontera incita a la diferenciación y a la hostilidad entre grupos vecinos? Contrastando opiniones femeninas y masculinas, este artículo analiza cómo cien adolescentes en Algeciras (en el sur de España) sienten la presencia del marroquí "el otro" en sus espacios vitales. A través de grupos de discusión, un cuestionario y juegos de asociación de palabras, obtuvimos las representaciones sociales de los jóvenes sobre sus vecinos marroquíes. Por medio de una perspectiva metodológica mixta hemos analizado estas representaciones desde una perspectiva meso (o grupal), encontrando que los niveles y el modelo de hostilidad hacia marroquíes son sorprendentemente diferentes entre chicos y chicas.

Palabras clave: etnocentrismo, género, representaciones sociales, zona fronteriza, metodología mixta.

Introduction

On the one hand, several features of borders overlap with conditions that have been found by social psychologists to increase aversion between two groups. Examples of this are the peripheral geographical position of a borderland with respect to the national centre that might lead to feelings of relative deprivation among border peoples, in turn conducive to ethnocentrism (Relative Deprivation Theory (Vanneman & Pettigrew, 1972)). Competition across the border over scarce resources such as capital and employment, over status or over cultural dominance leads to ethnocentrism, too, as subordinate groups try to enhance their standing while dominant groups try to maintain the status–quo (Realist Conflict Theory, Sherif Harvey, White, Hood, & Sherif, 1961). Applied to the Spanish–Moroccan context, one could thus expect economic growth and Morocco's political ambitions – from constituting a self–declared Arab model of human rights to claiming EU membership – to be perceived as a threat by many Spaniards who may be eager to preserve their status as Europe's southernmost member, a proud spearhead of NATO, the EU and other Western acquisitions such as democracy, relatively low levels of corruption and a market economy.

On the other hand, closeness in a borderland may have unifying effects between groups: Cultural similarity may lead both to affinity because of (re)classification (Brewer, 1979) the ethnic group across the border as in–group. A shared language, history and phenotype for instance may have such a hybridising effect. It is also well documented that contact between ethnic groups may lead to affinity if certain contextual conditions are given (superordinate goals, institutional support, etc.), or it may lead to ethnocentrism because it highlights perceived differences (Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954)). (see table 1)

To make matters more complex, intra–group differences are likely to exist in how sub–groups of the two adjacent nations perceive each other. Small communities that speak the language of their neighbours may be less hostile towards them. Those sub–groups in a borderland who have intergroup contact with the "Other" are more exposed to similarities between "us" and "them". Younger generations who have not experienced armed or political conflict with their neighbours may be more tolerant, etc.

It is one such sub–group division – and its symbolic dimension – that we want to tackle in this paper: Are the processes of hybridisation and differentiation at borderlands gendered in nature ? At a time where the status and rights of women are widely used as shorthand to indicate how democratic and respectful of human rights a country is, the gender dimension in prejudice deserves special attention: What are the cultural bases of rejection and differentiation? The rise of female migration from Morocco to Spain witnessed in the early years of the 21^st century further amplifies this point: De facto, the "Other" is now both male and female. Do representations follow suit ?

While the impact on border identities of other socio–economic differences such as class and age is equally understudied and deserving of further scholarly attention, gender has been selected here for its particular symbolic dimension: Gender refers to the power–relations between women and men; their different needs, expectations, experiences and identities that are a function of their position in society and influence it in turn. By looking at the neighbouring Other "through a gender lens" we ask: In how far does the way females make sense of the presence of Moroccans in their life–space differ from that of males? Do women hold more tolerant views of the neighbouring nationals? Do both genders express their reservations and prejudice differently with regards to Moroccan women and Moroccan men? And: In how far are these differences in viewpoint a function of the speakers' position in society?

Gender differences in outgroup hostility and ethnocentric expression are a well–documented phenomenon: Women are less likely than males to engage in organised or semi–organised right–wing extremism (Willems, Eckert, Würtz, & Steinmetz, 1993), to vote for parties with an exclusionary agenda (Leggewie, 1989) and hold less xenophobic attitudes (Eisler & Loye, 1983; Sidanius et al, 1995). However, it has been pointed out that gender differences in ethnocentrism may be a methodological artefact: Women's ethnocentric orientations are simply not adequately measured by existing instruments. Scholars have argued that there are gender–specific differences in expressing ethnocentrism (Birsl, 1994) and that a respondents' understanding of a construct or questionnaire item may not be equivalent for men and women (Rippl & Seipel, 1997). To put it in methodological terms, there are issues regarding the equivalence of measurement instruments and regarding the equivalence of constructs similar to those found in cross–cultural research.

In response, this paper will largely focus on qualitative materials collected through focus groups following criterion and theory–based sampling (Miles & Huberman, 1994). After having identified two participating schools in Algeciras (Southern Spain) on the basis of socio–economic and diversity–related criteria, 100 volunteers were identified following an open call for a specific age group (last year of compulsory secondary education). Contrasting female and male voices of the adolescent participants in six single–sex focus groups, among other data collection methods, we now investigate into gendered "tacit understandings" and ways of attributing meaning to the presence of the Moroccan "Other" in their life–spaces. Besides the limitations of the sample at hand, generalisation to borderlands in general is restricted by means of the nature of the borderland studied: The Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco/Spain) is a case of an "alienated" borderland where animostities prevail (Martínez, 1994) and hence not characteristic of the other three categories of borderlands (coexistent, interdependent and integrated; for a critical discussion of this typology, see Donnan & Wilson, 1999). This particular borderland has been chosen due to its high salience both as a bridge – around 4 million persons legally cross the border at the port of Algeciras every year; nearly 100 000 Moroccans legally reside in Andalucía (www.juntadeandalucia.es) – and as a barrier – Spain ranked 15^th and Morocco 130^th in UNDP's Human Development Index in 2009 (www.hdr.undp.org); over 4 000 deaths were recorded in the Strait of Gibraltar over the last decade alone (www.fortresseurope.blogspot.com).

In Algeciras, most explanatory macro variables predict ethnocentric attitudes on behalf of the Spanish population (see table 2): Although there are cultural similarities across the divide – Andalusia is shaped by the Muslim past of Al–Andalus (architecture, music, etc.) and Northern Morocco is influenced by its Spanish colonial legacy (use of the Spanish language, cultural references induced by Spanish TV, etc.) – most observers would agree that historical, geographical, cultural, religious, legal and political divides largely prevail. Irregular migration combined with organized crime (drug–trafficking in particular) further accentuates differences and increases Spanish ethnocentrism.

Opinion polls such as the European Social Survey, Eurobarometer, or Spanish CIS, CIRES and OBERAXE have noted over the last decade or so that (a) traditionally tolerant Spain has been catching up with European levels of high xenophobia, (b) Andalucía is among the less ethnocentric regions of Spain – a long shot from Cataluña, Madrid or Valencia but with hostility levels rising (c) somewhat surprisingly, youth are among the more ethnocentric citizens in Spain. The reason generally advanced to explain this phenomenon is that younger people in Spain, which is traditionally an immigrant–sending region, are the first generation confronted with sharply rising immigrant–numbers (Cea D'Ancona & Vallez Martínez; 2008, 301).

Quantitative Indicators: Girls are generally more tolerant towards outgroups but reject their direct neighbours in the borderland (Moroccans) as much as boys do

In order to obtain a first insight into "hierarchies of Otherness" in Algeciras, we asked our teenage participants how much they would like individuals from the following groups to migrate to Spain: EU citizens, Asians, Black Africans, Eastern Europeans, Latin Americans and the Spanish Roma and Moroccans. The scales shown in the graphs and tables below were constructed via exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation on the basis of multiple items included in the questionnaire and in an experiment; sample size 114 (F=47/M=67). The dimensions thus derived were labelled according to the 'common denominator' of items included in each of them. The items concerning "Blacks" formed two dimensions, one regarding different nationalities (Black Africans), one regarding the social status of Blacks in Spain (student, illegal immigrant, etc.).

Graph 1 above indicates that girls tend to be more welcoming of the different groups of foreigners in Algeciras than boys. In particular, girls are considerably more willing to accept Blacks and other European citizens than boys are (p<.05). There is only one outgroup that appears to be rejected equally strongly by girls and boys: Moroccans – the student's direct neighbours at the Strait of Gibraltar and the largest immigrant community living in Algeciras. The question thus becomes: How can we explain this striking absence of a gender difference in prejudice with regards to Moroccans?

When looking into males' and females' anti–Moroccan attitudes in more depth using Pettigrew & Meertens' subtle and blatant prejudice scales (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995), the students' views break down into four distinct dimensions: rejection of the Other, the belief in racial inferiority and the absence of positive emotions ("Racism and Rejection"), the intolerance vis–à–vis participation of Moroccans in one's romantic, personal or professional life ("Avoidance of Contact and Intimacy"), the perception of cultural differences between "them" and "us" on the basis of values, religion and sexual practices ("Perceived Cultural Differences") as well as a preference for "Spaniards first!" policies, i.e. for policies that restrict the immigration and social welfare of Moroccans in Spain ("Preference for Exclusionary Policies"). Again, there are hardly any differences between the way the girls and boys in our sample think about Moroccans in terms of these four dimensions of prejudice. The tendency for girls to be more tolerant on three out of four dimensions is not statistically significant, possibly due to the small number of respondents. Looking at scores alone, however, we note that girls tend to be more in favour of exclusionary policies than boys while voicing only minimally more tolerant opinions than boys on all other dimensions: They share the boys' perception of cultural differences (which also receives the highest overall scores) and even, to a lesser degree, the boys' racist sentiments and preference for avoiding contact and intimacy. (see table 3)

In other words, according to these quantitative findings, girls in Algeciras tend to be more tolerant with regard to potential immigrants in general, as theory would suggest. However, when it comes to Moroccans, the difference is non–significant and negligible even in terms of scores, especially on the dimension "perceived cultural differences". In other words, there is no significant difference in the way girls in Algeciras and boys in Algeciras view Moroccans. Thus, referring back to our discussion of gendered prejudice in the introduction, we are wondering: What is special about Moroccans as an object of prejudice in Algeciras? And: Do the questionnaire results adequately capture social reality? Are the girls' ethnocentric orientations satisfactorily measured? If there are gender–specific differences in expressing ethnocentrism, a qualitative instrument should be added to our investigation. To this end, we carried out five focus group discussions with the Algeciras youth, one with boys only, two with girls only and two mixed. What kinds of social representations (Moscovici, 1961–1976) of the Moroccan Other emerge from the focus group material?

Core Historical and Contemporary Representation of the Moroccan "Other" in Spain: The Invader

In Social Representations Theory, a distinction is made between those aspects of a social representation (SR) that are long–lived and widely–shared in society (core SR) and those that are dependent on context–factors and emerge within small–group settings (peripheral SR) (Abric, 1993; Abric, 1994). Core representations serve to ensure the continuity and identity of the wider (national) group and are linked to collective memory. When people appropriate new knowledge as a function of their social or geographical conditions, their gendered position in society, etc., these will be peripheral representations. In other words, gender differences in the students' representational universe will by definition be "peripheral" in the sense that they do not put into question the cohesiveness of wide–spread beliefs and a common system of norms (although future research should test this assumption with regards to extreme cases of gender segregation such as in Saudi Arabia).

Both types of representation are ofutmost importance in understanding the ethnocentric worldviews ofour respondents because these representations of the Other (rather than some kind of objectivist reality) become the world–taken–for–granted on which action is based. As Moscovici writes: "Thus, by a sort of logical imperative, images become elements of reality rather than elements of thought. The gap between the representation and what it represents is bridged, the pecularities of the replica of the concept become pecularities of the pheonomena or of the environment to which they refer, become the actual referent of the concept" (Moscovici, 1984:40). In the following, let us look at core and gendered peripheral representations in turn.

Uncivilised Invaders

The core of a social representation is directly linked to and determined by historical, sociological and ideological conditions and marked by collective memory and a collective system of norms. The function of the core representation is to define the homogeneity of the ingroup and to ensure the continuity and consistency of the representation. Therefore, the core is rather stable and coherent and relatively independent from situational factors. Contextual knowledge and the secondary literature (e.g. historical stereotypes, media) enable the researcher to distinguish between "core" and "peripheral" representations. The distinction between "core" and "peripheral" representations therefore says nothing as to the strength of an image; the difference is in the durée of the representation and in its "width" or spread in wider society. In this way, "core" representations are the ones that can potentially be generalised beyond the sample. In our study, the peripheral representations are variations of a general theme – invasion – that sustain the core representation even if they are much more violent, clearly embedded in local scenarios and probably stronger and more salient than the core representations.

The core representation of Moroccans held by the 16–year old adolescents in Algeciras, irrespective of gender, can be summarised in table 5.

Let us briefly discuss the main historical dimensions of the widely shared image of Moroccans as uncivilised and disrespectful "invaders" among youth in Algeciras, which can be generalised beyond the sample (see for instance Cea D'Ancona & Valles Martínez 2008, p. 97 ff and 189 ff). The topos of invasion or "conquista" found in our focus group data resonates with the colossal historical efforts to fight off the 700–year long Muslim rule in great parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Among its main connotations in the Spanish national psyche are fear of conquest and submission, loss of faith, loss of homeland, violence and war.

According to Martín Corales, two historical stereotypes of the Moroccan continue to exist in Spain today: First, they are savages, uncivilised and wild; second, they are 'terrorists', fundamentalists and enemies of liberty.

In the first case, the waterfall of depreciations heard of [Moroccan] immigrants squares especially with the stereotypes of savages, dirty, ignorant and impudent people, forged in those moments when Spain imposed itself in Morocco (African War of 1860, Moroccan Wars and War of Ifni–Sáhara). In the second case, [it matches] considerations of the Moroccan as cannon fodder for all sorts of despotisms, and, what is more, as the enemy of liberty (the satanisation of the Moroccan soldiers who fought in Franco's ranks in the Spanish civil war) (Martín Corrales, 2001) 2).¹

Historically speaking, where does this representation come from? According to many observers, these 20^th and 21^st century images date back a millennium or more, to the times of the Arab conquest of Al–Andalus: García Morente, for instance, writes: "Ever since the Arabic invasion, the horizon of Spanish life is dominated ... by the opposition between Christians and Moors; the Other is both Muslim and foreign. The Self then is both Christian and Spanish" (Manuel García Morente, cited in (Dezcallar, 1993: 154).³

Reconquista, Crusades, Inquisition and Expulsion – Moors as the ultimate enemy, the historical "Other"

The eleventh to fifteenth centuries (sometimes called the "second period of al–Andalus"), when Moorish Spain was governed by the almorávides and almohades in North Africa (1091–1492) most clearly characterise the clear opposition of the 'Christian knights' and the 'savage Moor': The Inquisition (since 1481) and the imposition of religious unity in Spain under Carlos (1525) paired with military reconquista found their culmination point with the expulsion of mudejares (Muslims remaining in Christian territory after 1492) and moriscos (former Muslims converted to Catholicism under the coercive laws of 1525) in 1609/1610, following that of Spanish Jews and conversos (Jews converted to Catholicism) in 1492. Ever since the reconquista, Spanish identity is inseparably linked with Catholicism and the superiority of 'old Christians' over recent converts, with the honour and pride of the hidalgo, the Christian knight (small nobility) who leads crusades against the cruel and savage Muslim empires (Dezcallar, 1992). With time, the moro of the Middle Ages has become more and more associated with the Moroccan, the closest and most salient North African group in Spain. Indeed, in modern dictionaries, 'moro' and 'North African' are synonyms. Totally dissociated from the Spaniard in public perception (although many moros of al–Andalus were Spaniards converted to Islam), moros have lived on as the national Other in legends and myth.

"The long battle for 'reconquista' and the final episode of Moorish expulsion have consolidated the Spaniards' will to wipe out any relation, any reference to Moorish culture and civilisation although the richness and shine of the latter should have been met by a sustained interest throughout Europe" (Arkoun, 1993: 13).⁴ The example of the moriscos in the 15^th and 16^th century shows that those Muslims who did assimilate and convert to Christianity were even more suspicious to the Spaniards of the time, "a category that attacks us from the interior" (González Alcantud, 2002: 235). Today, assimilated Moroccans in Spain might well be trapped in a no–win situation similar to that described by Lapeyronnie regarding Maghrebis in France in the 1980s: "It is their proximity and resemblance [...] that is at the root of the problems they encounter" (Lapeyronnie, 1987: 313).

The positive stereotype: The Oriental Dream of al–Andalus.

No description of Spanish widespread representations about Moroccans would be complete without mentioning the orientalist, glorified vision of the "true arabo–andalousian civilisation" or "Oriental Dream" of Córdoba from 711 to 1091 (Ridao, 2000) 30–31). This first "Al–Andalus" – later used as justification for the colonial enterprise in Morocco after 1912 – is portrayed as a prosperous and blossoming period and encapsulates a positive stereotype of the Moor: During this era, all Spaniards – Jews, Muslims and Christians – are said to have lived in mutual comprehension and symbiosis, the Muslim rulers were benign and respectful of differences, forced conversions to Islam were inexistent (Vives, 1970).⁵ The Moors of al–Andalus established many centres of great scholarly learning where the philosophy and science of antiquity were transmitted to the Latin world, thus paving the way for the European Renaissance and Humanism. In sum, this image of the moro is directly opposed to the stereotype mentioned above: The image associated with the Moors of the Cordoba caliphate is one of people who are highly civilised, generous and good rulers. This positive stereotype is now being recuperated by the provincial government of Andalusia and by many historians claiming that in al–Andalus, Muslims were regarded as friends and neighbours or at best as "dignified rivals" and speak of the great "valorisation, by Christian Spain, of the high degree of development of the Arabic civilisation" (López García, 1993: 204).⁶

Our focus groups were carried out against the backdrop of September 11, 2001 and two years before the March 11, 2004 Madrid bombings, at a time when the so–called "Clash of Civilisations" was omnipresent in public discourse. Simultaneous, the number of Moroccans legally residing in Spain had more than doubled in the five years preceding our fieldwork and the fortification of the EU's Southern border had been concluded in order to keep unwanted irregular migrants out.

A mirror image of this context, the Algeciras youth objectified their neighbouring populations as "Moro invaders", an army of irregular immigrants, impoverished, badly dressed and uncivilised; as religious fundamentalists with beards.

]]> F116: Because the Moor who has documents is a Moor who deals drugs. The Moor who doesn't have document is a Moor who goes out wearing red slippers, a shirt full of shit. And besides, you notice them because of the beards ...

F115: Without socks, they go without socks.⁷

According to the focus group informants, only drug dealers come to Spain legally; all others are "illegal invaders". They have many wives and children, come to Spain in search of a better life and bring a host of problems with them, such as crime, insecurity and disrespect for local customs. These "invaders" come to Spain illegally in small boats called pateras ["vienen en las pateras"¹]; they arrive – dead or alive – at the shores between Algeciras and Tarifa. Echoing sensationalist media treatment of irregular migration in Spain and defying all statistics, students thus exclude from their representational universe all those Moroccans who enter legally at Barajas airport and outstay their visa or, for that matter, Ceutis who can come and go with their Spanish passport.

The topos "The Moors are coming back!"/invasion highlights the paradoxical co–existence of two distinct takes on Moroccan presence in Algeciras, much in line with the historical representations discussed above: On the one hand, Moroccans are all "garbage"; on the other, the students seem to acknowledge that Moors have left a valuable heritage in Andalusia (below speaker F123 insists that 'the ones from back then' cannot be called 'garbage'; see also E4, l. 1964 ff. about the 'precious' ruins in Algeciras' municipal garden) and that consequently, Moroccans have a special right to come "back" to Spain ('this place is more theirs than ours'):

F119: Al–Andalus, Andalucía.

F118: Al–Andalus.

F128: That's when the Moors were here, well, the name they gave it. (Pause)

T: And when was that ? That the Moors came ?

M119: It's been 300 years ... at least, that they left.

]]> M127: And they are coming back.

M102: They are coming, hahaha.

F118: Yes, yes!

M126: They are really coming back. They left and came, only saved the name, nothing else.

M119: Really, this place is more theirs than ours. They were stuck here for at least 600 years.

M126: Or more. M128: More.

F123: More.

M119: But I don't care. [...]

M102: But the Moors are garbage.

T: The ones from now or from then?

]]> M119: All.

M124: All of them.

M102: All.

F118: The ones from now and the ones from then.

F123: The ones from back then? Noooo!

M102: These ones, yes.⁸

The citation shows that present–day Moroccan immigrants are perceived as direct successors of the Arab conquistadors of the 8^th century.

All in all, the representation of the invaders seems to be strongly influenced by the media (situation in Almeria/El Ejido, Islamic fundamentalism, etc.) and by historical stereotypes (the cruel Moors who invaded Spain). It is of course a rather inadequate description of Algeciras' Moroccan population: Algeciras is home to one of the oldest Moroccan communities in Spain. All those who came before 1991 entered the country legally under visa–free travel provisions (rather than in pateras, as suggested by the students). Many Moroccans residing in Algeciras have obtained long–term residence permits or even Spanish citizenship. The illegal immigrants that pass by rarely stay in Algeciras but make their way up to Madrid, Barcelona or Almería where the jobs are (according to a key informant interview [pro–immigrant NGO]). This is a national representation.

Context– and Group–Specific Representations: Girls show an element of attraction towards Moroccan males and females

Table 6 shows an overview of the peripheral representations found with – by sex – by the informants from Algeciras. The most recurring are the representation of the "witch" (Moroccan women represented by Spanish girls), the "inoffensive" bird (Moroccan women represented by the boys from Algeciras), as well as the "drug dealer" (males representing males) and the "sexy desirable" Moro (girls from Algeciras representing Moroccan men).

The Moorish Witch (Representation of Females by Females)

The representation of the "Moorish witch" is that of a cold–blooded, calculating traitor ["the female Moors are very traitorous; "las moras son muy traicioneras"¹]. It is the flip–side of the positive representation of Moroccan women held by the boys from Algeciras (see below). The "Moor as witch"–image is forged mainly by the female participants from focus groups 3 and 4 (slowest learners within the catch–all school, living mainly in an ethnically mixed – majority Spanish / Roma / Moroccan – neighbourhood). According to them, the "Moorish witch" is after two things: First, money ["They want nothing but money. And they don't mind killing their own children. (Pause) (Laughter) They believe in money. You don't see that? Dough, cash. Money!"; "Na más que quieren dinero. Y le da iguá mata a sus hijos. (Pausa) (Risas) Que creen en el dinerio. ¿No ves? Plata, plata. ¡Dinero!"¹]. Second, Moroccan ladies supposedly want Spanish citizenship for themselves and their children. According to our informants, their preferred way of obtaining citizenship is either coming when pregnant and having a child on Spanish soil [quote 1] (NB : Spanish "citizenship of origin" is granted only if the authorities cannot establish the nationality of either parent and the baby is effectively stateless) or finding a Spanish husband [quote 2].

And they come here pregnant to have their babies here. And when they have the baby here they have to stay here cause the child is Spanish.⁹

F118: [...] And they also go and get married here with a Spaniard so he sorts out her papers.

F124: To get citizenship.

F118: Then she gets sick of betraying the Spaniard, she marries for money [here the speaker uses the expression "pegar el braguetazo" incorrectly] ... and leaves him there; she keeps all the money and the whole house, everything ....¹⁰

The adolescents lament the immoral tactics the "moras" use to find Spanish husbands: They specifically go for family fathers ["They steal the husbands of ... of the families who are married and all"; "Zes roban lo mario a... a a lasfamilias que están casaoy to ezo"] or rich sick or elderly Spaniards whom to become heir to: "They get married here with a man of whom they know he's going to die, an elderly man who is going to die. So she gets married here, she gets her papers in order ..." ["Se casan aquí con un hombre que zabe que se va a morir, un hombre mayor, que se va a morir, po se casa aquí, se arregla los papeles ..."]. In this way, the students say, they fulfil both objectives in one go: obtaining citizenship and getting rich.

The Inoffensive Moorish Female (Representation of Females by Males)

In contrast, the male 16–year olds from Algeciras hold an indifferent to positive representation of Moroccan women.

M109: The Moroccan women?

M111: These ones don't talk to anybody. More like ... little birds ... (haha). Nothing ... they greet you. Are among themselves. Walk around veiled.

M103: They cause no problem nor nothing.

M109: Like the Chinese, that's it. ... But nothing.¹¹

Where they mention them, the boys say Moroccan women "don't speak with anybody", that they are "more like little birds" [see above] and who don't cause any trouble ["With the female Moors nothing ever happened to me"; "Con la mora no me nunca pazao na"]. The really striking feature here is the absence of a representation – conform with the stereotype of the Muslim female who is weary of contact with males who are not members of her family. In short, the male focus group participants from Algeciras show great disinterest in Moroccan women that starkly contrasts with their overall core representation and with their peripheral representation of Moroccan males.

The Moorish drug dealer (Represenation of Males by Males):

They come here and they don't come as they should. Because if I am not from here, come on, I show a little respect! But they come here and eat the world, threaten people with a knife and . well . they are the kings here, face it! ¹²

The general feeling boys conveyed in the focus groups is that "they take advantage of this place, of our land" ["se aprovechan de aqui, de nuestra tierra"¹]. The "Moor as drug dealer" is thus overconfident and rich and can be easily made out because of the status symbols he wears [quote 1], he lives with his drug–dealer mates in shared flats [quote 2].

M126: [They wear] good clothes, golden chains ...

F124: They don't work.

M126: ... a new car.¹³

Guys smoking pot all day, into cocaine, with cars ... there are a lot of Moritos, and not one but twenty ... a house ? There are probably I don't know fifty Moritos at least in that house, they come and go, they are there with drugs from top to bottom. But hey?¹⁴

The representation of the "Moroccan drug dealer" largely ignores the fact that, in reality, the target group tends to be of Spanish nationality (from one the Spanish enclave cities in North Africa, that is, Ceuta) and includes also some females (key informant interview [Police]). One interpretation could be that of dislocation: Regarding Muslim Ceutís, the anti–moro sentiment may be particularly harsh and vaguely directed against "Moroccans" in order to preserve a positive in–group identity. The Ceutis, the 'Other' that attacks from within Spanish society, are thus "Moroccanised" juste like Arab converts to Christianity (moriscos') were "Moorified" in the fifteenth and sixteenth century in order to clear in–group identity of any potential stains of "Otherness", in order to homogenise what it means to be Spanish. Finally, it seems that the boys' objectifications of the drug dealer blend and merge with that of the "invader" to show that 'we' are "twice invaded": From without by an army of poor fundamentalists and from within by (alleged) Moroccans who deal drugs in Algeciras.

M109: Yes, man, but if you know that the Moroccans are not good in general, well ... [...]

T: But do you really know any Moroccans ? Does anybody know a Moroccan personally?

M109: Yes, yes.

M111: A guy who's in school with us, he's Moroccan.

M103: There are two more down here. Here they are good people, alright.

M109: But they are numerous, eh? I for example, when playing football, when a Moroccan comes to play with us or two or three, it's fine, don't know. But when more come, they grow already, they are already, mh. They start to give you ... evil looks, cause since they are more. When there are few, they team up, when when they are already ....¹⁵

Here, speaker M109 is playing on the stereotype of Moroccans as having some kind of "tribal behaviour", of Moroccans getting insolent when they know themselves to be the majority. Other male students argue that due to their bad behaviour and their links with drugs, their lack of respect and unreliability, friendship with Moroccans is difficult:

]]> M103: I don't have Moroccan friends.

M109: Neither do I. [...] But face it, the Moroccans are horrible, with them, ... friendship with them ... difficult!¹⁶

The cultural differences between Moors and Spaniards are perceived as being so enormous that the boys from Algeciras look at them with perplexity and bewilderment:

To me, it's not that I don't like them but they are different from us, they are different.

To me, it's not whether I dislike them or like them. I do like them but they are different from us, we don't ... well, we just don't match, we really don't!¹⁷

The sexy 'Morito' (Represenation of Males by Females):

The female focus group participants describe the so–called "Moritios", possibly in reality Ceuti drug dealers, as handsome ["guapísimos" "mu guapo"¹], super–polite ["supereducados"] and rich ["tienen más dinero"]. Secretly, all the girls want them! "The Moritos are the ones that they like, the Moritos" ["Zos moritos, los que a ellas le gustan, los moritos"¹]; "The thing is, the girls, the girls from here go crazy about the Moors . I include myself, for some of them" ["Es que a las niñas, las niñas de aquí se vuelven loca con los moro... me incluyo, en algunos"¹]. One female participant says half jokingly "They come here to the Plaza so that we lose our minds. They should stay in their country!" "Vienen aquí en la plaza pa que perdamos la cabeza. Que se queden en su país".

The "morito" [little Moor], a diminutive label that signals some kind of affection, is defined as follows by the girls from Algeciras:

]]> F116: The girls here, the ones from Ceuta they call 'moritos' and the ones from Morocco they call kurdos.

F115: The ones who don't have money, who are not good enough. The ones who are not acceptable. Because they don't have money and they are no one. The kurdos, the ones from Morocco are the kurdos and the one from Ceuta, well . they are the moritos.

F117: The moritos, the ones that they like, the moritos.¹⁸

The girls interviewed are – more or less secretely – attracted to these boys; some hang out with them and know them quite well but avoid being seen with them in public. They know perfectly well who is a dealer and who isn't because "they tell you" ["te lo dicen; "pero es que después no te lo ocultan tampoco, que te lo cuentan"] and have intimate knowledge of the processes and problems involved in the Moritos' trade.

Moroccans as boy–friends or potential boy–friends

However, the girls are wary of actually going out with these "Moroccans" (who in most cases hold Spanish nationality) or starting sexual relationships. They provide three reasons for this: First, the "Moritos" are womanisers. According to the girls, they are only after easy sex [quote1] or a Spanish passport [quote2] in the end. "They are different", "They are like that", there is nothing you can do about it.

F116: They buy you things, they buy you lots of things and as soon as ... and as soon he gets sex, well bye–bye, have a good day, we're through.

F117: And you're no longer beautiful or cute, you are just one more.

F115: No, not just one more, no, a ... slut, it's that I didn't want to use that word.¹⁹

]]> F115: For example they are with you and the next day he doesn't remember anything, because no, they are different. They are used to having many women, here they want the same thing, and kids, children everywhere, they come here to get married with a Spanish woman in order to stay here, to take everything away from us, ha ... [...].

F114: Cause for example my friend is going out with a Moor, the two are going out and one day said when my friend wasn't there, well the Moor came up to me and wanted to make a move on me, imagine that, and I, knowing that he was with my friend, and he knowing that I knew, honestly. And he was so calm and afterwards he told her because they don't give a shit, they don't give a shit about anything. Because they are like that.²⁰

In a sweeping generalisation, Moroccans are described as promiscuous and calculating (make gifts to get sex, no long–term dedication, not committed, sleep around, even with the girls' best friends, etc.). As a result, our respondents explain, one should never get into a relationship with any of them. Furthermore, as a second reason for staying away, the female youth from Algeciras explain that "Moritos" are drug dealers, that they move about in a ruthless environment that the girls do not want to be sucked into: "They are part of this drugged–up milieu, drug traffic, money ... it's all about money and they are no ... they are ... they are people who are not suitable" ["ellos van con ambiente de drogas, tráfico, con el dinero ... están liaos con el dinero y no ... son... gente que no, que no conviene".

F116: I see them and I talk to them: What's up? How are you? ... Very well, but this thing to be their girlfriend, go out partying with them, every day ... that's too much.

F117: What she doesn't like is the sphere in wich they move.

T: You don't like that sphere.

F117: The sphere in which they move, that they deal, that, the way in which ... at best they go out and they go, as she says, with knives to impress her, so that's the atmosphere that she doesn't like. But after all cause maybe you get on with them well, you go for coffee with them, you go around the block, but then when it comes to him being your boyfriend with whom you go out, go out partying, all that every day with this person, to be his girlfriend ... then you already belong to this circle.²¹

Third and last, the girls stress that they cannot be seen with the "Moritos" in public because there is a strong social stigma attached to going out with a Moroccan, especially with a "Morito" dealer.

]]> F125: A Moroccan ... invented that he was going out with her. [...]

F132: And everybody I know in the La Piñera neighbourhood, well, everybody said to me : What are you doing with him? And I say: What are you talking about ??? What a hassle!!!

T: So you cannot imagine going out with a Moor. F125: I cannot imagine it.²²

And we are like, normal, speaking to him and stuff. But me, I cannot go out on the streets with them because if somebody sees me who knows me and ... no, it simply cannot be.²³

If he [my father] sees me with a Morito, he cuts my throat. Hahaha.²⁴

Discussion

The boys' resentment towards Moroccan males is based on a perception of insurmountable differences. Moroccans are perceived as ethnically different (they are different, it is hard to be friends with them, etc.), they pose a cultural threat (they are drug dealers, they take advantage of us, they disrespect our way of life, etc.). This logic resembles the "new" differentialist forms of ethnocentrism currently discussed by scholars and policy–makers. New ethnocentrism or "new racism"²⁵ includes conceptualizations and operationalisations as diverse as "modern racism" (McConahay, 1983), "everyday racism" (Essed, 1991) (Wagner & van Dick, 2001), "aversive racism" (Gaertner & Dovidio, 1986; Dovidio & Gaertner, 1991), and, most influentially and controversially, "symbolic racism" (Sears, 1988) (Sears & Kinder, 1971) and "subtle prejudice" (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995).

"Old racism" is characterized by a perceived threat emanating from and rejection of the outgroup. It seems to underlie the core social representation of the Moroccan "invader" discussed above. In its full racist form, it includes the belief in the genetic inferiority of the outgroup (Allport, 1954). "New racism" on the other hand is a more latent and covert form of ethnic intolerance. It is characterised by a feeling of distance toward minorities (negative affect), support for a cultural separation between ethnic groups. Modern racism is sometimes accompanied by an open 'acceptation' of minorities and reference to egalitarian, non–prejudiced values – an aspect not found in our focus group discussions with boys from Algeciras. Finally, the indifference the boys show towards Moroccan females is revealing: In their – Andalusian patriarchal –worldview, the kind of cultural disrespect they most despise in Moroccans cannot by carried out by Muslim women whom they perceive as subordinate. Indeed, the Moroccan female is perceived as so unimportant, so irrelevant that she simply has no social representation attached to her. In the Algeciras boys' cognitive universe, the trademark of the Moroccan female is the "non–representation".

In contrast, the girls' ambiguous stance of simultaneous fascination and repulsion has a clear historically grounded sexuality subtext ("lo moro"), even when referring to Moroccan women. As González Alcantud put it in a recent historical–hermeneutical work entitled Lo Moro (2002), the label "moro" and the social representation associated with it is far from being simply negative and derogatory. By tracing the origins of the term 'moro' back to medieval Spanish caste–structure, highlighting the playful theme of masquerade inherent in the label and stressing the social functions of stereotypes, the author shows that what is Moorish, lo moro, is not only the ultimate antagonist and enemy of all that is Spanish and Christian, but also exerts a distinct attraction (2002: 233–237). Lo moro is also exotic and mysterious, sensual and erotic, wild and irrational, pure and untamed.

Conclusions

We are then faced with a paradox: On the one hand, our quantitative measures show that (a) girls in Algeciras are generally more tolerant than boys but (b) have an equally negative or worse image of their neighbouring Moroccan populations. Girls show generally higher tolerance–levels but place Moroccans at the bottom of the ethnic hierarchies in Spain while boys reserve this place for Sub–Saharan Africans. However, in the focus groups we found (c) a strong topos of simultaneous attraction and fascination when it comes to the girls from Algeciras evaluating Moroccan males and females. We need to therefore ask: How does this result (b) come about? Do the quantitative questions not adequately capture this dimension of fascination Algecireño girls experience for Moroccans? Have girls understood the subtle and blatant prejudicial questions differently from the way boys did? Future research (e.g. based on cognitive interviews) should shed light on this issue.

Another important aspect are two intervening variables: As predicted by the model in the introduction (Ethnocentrism–Attenuating Features), where individuals perceive similarities between "us" and "them" and where contact is successful, ethnocentrism–scores are lower (in our dataset p<.001 for similarity; p<.01 for contact). With the adolescents from Algeciras, there is a non–significant tendency for girls to perceive higher similarities and have more contact with Moroccans, compared to the boys. Even if the respondent's sex is not a significant predictor variable for "levels of ethnocentrism" based on the subtle and blatant prejudice scales in any model, this tendency should not be ignored, seeing the difficulty of achieving statistically significant results in a small–n study. In other words, from a gender perspective, the social position of girls in Algeciras needs to be considered: In a traditionally sexist society, is there scope for an alliance of the underdogs, women and migrants, bringing about perceived similarity and more intimate views of 'the Other' by female respondents, mixing rejection and attraction?

Finally, it is clear that the young people's orientation towards their neighbours in this particular borderland is characterised mainly by "boundedness" and rejection with overture and tolerance playing a minor role. Although this finding contradicts much of the literature in the discipline of "borderstudies" that emphasises the hybridisation of identities in borderlands, it may not come as a surprise in the particular Spanish–Moroccan context where bilateral political crises, historical antagonisms and a fortification of the physical border–space are part and parcel of everyday life. Current global phenomena such as the 'fight against terror', islamophobia and a shift to 'managed migration' as opposed to free movement certainly have a role to play.

Indeed, border–crossing, which is at the core of the notion of the borderland as a bridge, a conduit and a window (see Introduction) is almost irrelevant in Algeciras: Although the cost of going over and getting to know 'them' and their country is low, Algecireño youth simply do not do so (75% of the respondents have never been to Morocco). And those who have been to Morocco do not hold more tolerant views of Moroccans than others. Similarly, the brief, involuntary contacts all of our informants have with Moroccans (2% of the populations of Algeciras are Moroccans and hundreds of thousands pass through Algeciras every year on their way North) do not have tolerance–enhancing effects either.

Indeed, 'successful' contact seems to be quite separate from where one lives and what kinds of contact–opportunities are provided on the "intergroup" level; rather, it appears to be an "interpersonal" affair between close acquaintances or friends. The sustained, non–hierarchical, voluntary and close contacts with Moroccan school mates, friends or neighbours measured in our study that do have a tolerance–effect can occur anywhere where distinct ethnic groups cohabitate (in big cities, international corporations, etc.). Thus, while contacts are a feature of transgression, they are not exclusive to the borderland.

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Notes

² Translation by Tina Tordjman–Nebe

³ Translation by Tina Tordjman–Nebe

⁴ Translation by Tina Tordjman–Nebe

⁵ It is important to remember that during this period almost all of Spain, in the almost absence of coercion, converted to Islam. The Muslim population of al–Andalus was therefore not composed of Arabic invaders and their descendants but rather of generations of Muwallad (Spaniards converted to Islam). According to Dezcallar, prose of the time such as the Cantar de Mío Cid demonstrates that both the Mozarabes (Christians under Muslim rule), and the Muwallad lived in al–Andalus "without losing their radical Spanishness" [sin perder su españolidad radical] (Dezcallar, 1993: 154).

⁶ Translation by Tina Tordjman–Nebe

⁷ The original conversation was as follows : F116: "Porque el morito que tiene papele, morito que trafica. El morito que no tiene papele, morito que va vestio con unas chanca roja, una camiseta llena de mierda. Y adema se le noto con las barba... F115: "Sin calcetines, van sin calcetines".

⁸ M119: Al–Andalus, Andalucía. F118: Al–Andalus. F128: "Eso es cuando estuvieron aquí los moros, po el nombre que le pusieron. (Pausa) T: ¿Y cuándo era eso? ¿Que han venido los moros? M119: Hace 300 años por lo menos... que se fueron. M127: Y están viniendo otra vez. M102: Están veniendo. Jajaja F118: Sí sí. M126: Que están veniendo otra vez. Se fueron y vinieron, salvaron el nombre ná má. M119: Es que esto en verdad es más de ellos que nuestro. Ellos se han pegao aquí por lo menos 600 años. M126: O más. M128: Más. F123: Más. M119: Pero a mí me da igual. [...] M102: Pero los moros son basura. T: ¿Los de hoy en día o los de antes? M119: Todos. F124: Todos. M102: Todos. F118: Los de hoy y los de antes. F123: Los de antes, noooo. M102: Ellos sí".

⁹ "Y se vienen embarazás aquí pa parí aquí. Y cuando tienen el niño aquí se tienen que quedá aquí porque el niño es español".

¹⁰ F118:" [...] Y también coger y casarse aquí con un español pa que le arregle lo papele. F124: Pa tener la nacionalidad. F118: Después se harta de ponerle los cuernos al español, le mete dos o tres braguetazos ... y lo deja en el sitio; se queda con to el dinero con toa la casa, con to ..."

¹² "Vienen aquí y no vienen como tienen que veni, porque yo no soy de aquí y vamo, respeto un poquito, pero ellos se vienen aquí y se comen el mundo, a sacarle navaja a la gente y ... bueno que ... son los reyes de aquí vamo".

¹³ M126: "Ropa buena, cordones de oro... " F124: "No trabaja". M126: "... coche nuevo...".

¹⁴ "Niñatos to er dia fumando porro, con la coca liaos, con los coches y moritos un montón, hay por allí y no uno sino veinte ... ¿una casa? Y a lo mejor hay en la casa, yo que sé, cincuenta morito por lo meno, y entran salen, y están allí con la droga parriba y pabajo. Pero vamos".

¹⁵ M109: "Sí, hombre, si tú sabes que los marroquíe po en general no son buenos, pooo ... [...] T: ¿Pero conocéis de verdad a los marroquíes? ¿Alguien conoce a uno personalmente?" M109: Sí, sí. M111: "Un chava que está aquí en el instituto es marroquí". M103: "Dos más que hay aquí abajo, que aquí son buena gente, vamos". M109: "Pero son mucho, eh. Yo por ejemplo jugando al futbol, cuando se pone a juga un marroquí con nosotro o dos o tres están bien, no sé qué. Ahora cuando vienen más ya se crecen ya son, mh. Ya te empiezan a ... a mirar con mala cara, porque como son más, cuando son poco se unen, pero cuando ya son ...".

¹⁶ M4: "Yo amigos marroquíes no tengo". M2: "Yo tampoco. [...] Pero vamos los marroquíes son horroroso con ... amistad con ellos ... ¡difícil!"

¹⁷ "A mí no me caen mal pero que son diferente a nosotros, son diferentes. A mí no es que me caigan mal ni me caigan bien, me caen bien, pero que son diferente a nosotros, no ... vamo que no compaginamo, porque no ...".

¹⁸ F116: "Las niñas de aquí, a los de Ceuta le dicen los moritos y a los de Marruecos le dicen los kurdos". F115: "Los que no tienen dinero, que no convienen. Los que no les convienen. Porque no tienen dinero y no son nadie. Los kurdo, los de Marrueco son los Kurdo y a los de Ceuta po son, son los moritos". F117: "Los moritos, los que a ellas le gustan, los moritos".

¹⁹ F116: "Te compran coza, te compran mushas coza y cuando ya... y cuando él ya consigue zexo, pues adió mu buena, ya contigo nada". F117: "Ya ni eres guapa, ni eres bonita ya eres una más". F115: "No una más no, una ... guarra, es que no quería deci esa palabra".

²⁰ F115: "A lo mejor están contigo y al otro día ni se acuerda de ná, porque no, que son diferentes. Ellos están acostumbrados a tene muchas mujere, aquí quieren hace lo mismo, y niños, hijos por tos laos, vienen aquí a casarse con una española pa quedarse aquí, quitarno a nojotro to, ja ... [...]". F114: "Porque a lo mejó mi amiga está saliendo con un morito, está saliendo los dos y un día alo mejo que no estaba mi amiga, po el morito venía a quererse, a querer ligar conmigo vamo, y yo sabiendo que él estaba con mi amiga y él sabiendo que yo lo sabía, vamo. Y él venía y tan tranquilo y despué se lo decía a ella, porque es que pasan, que pasan de tó. Porque son asin".

²² F125: "Un marroquí... se inventó que estuvo con ella". F132: "Y todo el mundo que yo conozco de La Piñera, po to el mundo me dice: ¿Tú qué haces con él? Digo: ¿De qué estás hablaaando ??? ¡ Qué fatica !!! T: Entonces tú no te puedes imaginar salir con un moro". F125: "Yo no me lo imagino".

²³ "Y estamos na, norma, hablando con él y ezo, pero yo por la calle no puedo ir con ellos, porque me ve cualquiera que me conozca y... no, no puede ze".

²⁴ "Y como me vea a mí con un morito me corta el pescuezo. Ja, ja, ja".

²⁵ To my mind, seeing that modern forms of racism do not rely on a belief in biological superiority, they should not be referred to as racism at all. In terms of attitudes and behaviour, 'racism' should be reserved for denoting attempts to both naturalise and essentialise ethnic differences (i.e. talking about cultures as given) as well as to assign them to a fixed hierarchy (i.e. some 'races' and cultures are inherently inferior) (for a further discussion of this point, see (Kleinpenning & Hagendoorn, 1993). New racism denotes forms of prejudice that need to be labelled differently.

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Tina Tordjman–Nebe: Doctora en Ciencias Políticas y Sociales por el Instituto Universitario Europeo de Florencia. Actualmente trabaja en el Programa de Migración, Derechos Humanos y Género del Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas, en su sede de Rabat (Marruecos). Es especialista en racismo, igualdad de género y experta en etnoconflictos religiosos y políticos, especialmente en Europa, Medio Oriente y Norte de África. Publicaciones recientes: "At the Gates of Fortress Europe. Historical and Contemporary Representations of the Neighbouring 'Other' in Eastern Germany and Southern Spain", en IESA Working Paper Series (WP 11–04) CSIC, España (2004), y en coautoría con Nina Rother, "More mobile, more European? Free movement and EU identity", en Ettore Recchi y Adrian Favell, Pioneers of European Integration. Citizenship and Mobility in the EU, Cheltenham, UK (2009).