Proximics: Evidence from Moroccan culture
Part Two: 2- Factors in Distance Variation
The distance one takes from his interlocutor in interaction may vary according to factors relating to the interacting individual, the nature of his sex, his social status whether he is subordinate, equal, or superior to his interlocutor; and finally to the nature of the interaction itself that is: whether it is intellectual, business or personal. The degree of variation shows how the interacting person conceives of distance, for his behaviour will be regarded improper if he fails to maintain the appropriate space to the situation.
2-1-Sex of Individuals
The informants responses reveal that sex has a great influence on the spacing pattern in the Moroccan culture.
In public interaction, most of the informants favour with drawing to a less close distance when the interlocutor is from the opposite sex. For instance, when the interlocutor is a female, the male speaker controls his verbal as well as his non-verbal behaviour, the distance he takes is not too intimate, nor does he excessively use touch; otherwise his behaviour will be disapproved of  by society because it is too intimate. Both student and pupil informants affirm that distance does change according to the nature of the interlocutor’s sex. A male student informant More »