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<p>This study investigates the intricate interplay of sexuality, interethnic marriage, and ethnosexual boundaries in shaping contemporary interethnic relations within the Fergana Valley, a region straddling Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan known for its ethnic diversity and historical tensions. Employing a robust mixed-methods approach—ethnographic fieldwork with 300 participants across urban and rural settings (July 2022–January 2023), 60 semi-structured interviews with diverse stakeholders, archival marriage records spanning 1960–2020, and statistical analysis of 15,000 marriage entries from regional registries (2010–2023)—we uncover a 12% rise in interethnic marriages over the past decade. This increase, predominantly among Uzbek-Kyrgyz pairs due to geographic proximity and shared Sunni Muslim identity, is driven by urbanization, higher education levels, and cross-border economic ties. However, ethnosexual boundaries persist, reinforced by cultural norms of family honor, Islamic expectations of religious compatibility, gender-based disparities in social stigma, sexual upbringing variations, and lingering mistrust from the 2010 Kyrgyz-Uzbek violence. Tajik participation in interethnic unions remains limited, reflecting linguistic isolation and minority status. Childbearing patterns in interethnic unions further reflect ethnic tensions, with preferences for fewer children and gender biases tied to cultural dominance. These findings illuminate sexuality’s dual role as both a mechanism for ethnic integration and a site of boundary reinforcement, offering nuanced insights into the dynamics of cohesion and conflict in post-Soviet multi-ethnic societies. The study contributes to global scholarship on ethnicity and intimacy while highlighting Central Asia-specific factors such as Soviet legacies and nationalist resurgence.</p>

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Sexuality and Interethnic Marriage: Fieldwork Insights from the Fergana Valley

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月19日

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  • Bekmirzayev Rakhmanali

摘要

This study investigates the intricate interplay of sexuality, interethnic marriage, and ethnosexual boundaries in shaping contemporary interethnic relations within the Fergana Valley, a region straddling Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan known for its ethnic diversity and historical tensions. Employing a robust mixed-methods approach—ethnographic fieldwork with 300 participants across urban and rural settings (July 2022–January 2023), 60 semi-structured interviews with diverse stakeholders, archival marriage records spanning 1960–2020, and statistical analysis of 15,000 marriage entries from regional registries (2010–2023)—we uncover a 12% rise in interethnic marriages over the past decade. This increase, predominantly among Uzbek-Kyrgyz pairs due to geographic proximity and shared Sunni Muslim identity, is driven by urbanization, higher education levels, and cross-border economic ties. However, ethnosexual boundaries persist, reinforced by cultural norms of family honor, Islamic expectations of religious compatibility, gender-based disparities in social stigma, sexual upbringing variations, and lingering mistrust from the 2010 Kyrgyz-Uzbek violence. Tajik participation in interethnic unions remains limited, reflecting linguistic isolation and minority status. Childbearing patterns in interethnic unions further reflect ethnic tensions, with preferences for fewer children and gender biases tied to cultural dominance. These findings illuminate sexuality’s dual role as both a mechanism for ethnic integration and a site of boundary reinforcement, offering nuanced insights into the dynamics of cohesion and conflict in post-Soviet multi-ethnic societies. The study contributes to global scholarship on ethnicity and intimacy while highlighting Central Asia-specific factors such as Soviet legacies and nationalist resurgence.