Males' trust and mistrust of females in Muslim matrimonial sites
Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society
ISSN: 1477-996X
Article publication date: 12 August 2013
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine interpersonal trust in Muslim matrimonial sites (MMS) from a male perspective. Specifically how users perceive interpersonal trust in MMS; what are the signs of lack of trust in MMS (if any); and what strategies do users adopt to handle the lack of trust in MMS.
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical qualitative study used ethnographic techniques to collect data. In addition to briefly observing five MMS, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with ten participants, who were all males, between the ages of 25-35, and residing in different locations, including the USA, the UK, the UAE, Australia and Bahrain. While the interviews focused on participants' experience in MMS, the analysis of these interviews focused on the issue of trust in these sites.
Findings
The analysis has revealed that participants associated trust with “risk taking”, “reliance” on one's abilities, “self-confidence” and honesty with the first three being the major themes that transpired from the analysis of data. The analysis has also revealed three signs of lack of trust in MMS. Users expressed concern over a large number of members' profiles being fake; they appeared suspicious about these sites and approached them with caution and felt intimidated by the unrealistic expectations members placed on them. However, it was found users adopted several strategies to handle the lack of trust in MMS including using their communication skills to study others carefully, doing “police work” to uncover any inconsistencies in their statements, “interrogating” them using a pre-developed list of questions and involving their family members in their negotiations.
Originality/value
Despite MMS immense popularity within the Islamic world, with the exception of a few articles, there are not many articles available in the academic literature on them. This article seeks to address this imbalance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank Reema Hussain (Effat University, Saudi Arabia), who collected the data for this study, for doing an excellent job at conducting the interviews and Adrian Bunn (Charles Sturt University, Australia) for his contribution to the literature review of the article and also for proofreading an earlier draft of the article.
Citation
Al-Saggaf, Y. (2013), "Males' trust and mistrust of females in Muslim matrimonial sites", Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 174-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-06-2013-0012
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited