Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2020 |
Outros Autores: | |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2673 |
Resumo: | Women being left behind in the countryside by husbands who migrate to work has been a common phenomenon in China. On the other hand, over time, rural women’s participation in migration has increased precipitously, many doing so after their children are older, and those of a younger generation tend to start migrant work soon after finishing school. Although these women may no longer be left behind physically, their work, mobility, circularity, and frequency of return continue to be governed by deep-rooted gender ideology that defines their role primarily as caregivers. Through the biographical stories of two rural women in Anhui, this article shows that traditional gender norms persist across generations. Yingyue is of an older generation and provided care to her husband, children, and later grandchildren when she was left behind, when she participated in migration, and when she returned to her village. Shuang is 30 years younger and aspires to urban lifestyle such as living in apartments and using daycare for her young children. Yet, like Yingyue, Shuang’s priority is caregiving. Her decisions, which are in tandem with her parents-in-law, highlight how Chinese families stick together as a safety net. Her desire to earn wages, an activity much constrained by her caregiving responsibility to two young children, illustrates a strong connection between income-generation ability and identity among women of the younger generation. These two stories underscore the importance of examining how women are left behind not only physically but in their access to opportunities such as education and income-generating activity. |
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Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural Chinacaregiving; China; left behind; rural–urban migration; womenWomen being left behind in the countryside by husbands who migrate to work has been a common phenomenon in China. On the other hand, over time, rural women’s participation in migration has increased precipitously, many doing so after their children are older, and those of a younger generation tend to start migrant work soon after finishing school. Although these women may no longer be left behind physically, their work, mobility, circularity, and frequency of return continue to be governed by deep-rooted gender ideology that defines their role primarily as caregivers. Through the biographical stories of two rural women in Anhui, this article shows that traditional gender norms persist across generations. Yingyue is of an older generation and provided care to her husband, children, and later grandchildren when she was left behind, when she participated in migration, and when she returned to her village. Shuang is 30 years younger and aspires to urban lifestyle such as living in apartments and using daycare for her young children. Yet, like Yingyue, Shuang’s priority is caregiving. Her decisions, which are in tandem with her parents-in-law, highlight how Chinese families stick together as a safety net. Her desire to earn wages, an activity much constrained by her caregiving responsibility to two young children, illustrates a strong connection between income-generation ability and identity among women of the younger generation. These two stories underscore the importance of examining how women are left behind not only physically but in their access to opportunities such as education and income-generating activity.Cogitatio2020-04-28info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2673oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2673Social Inclusion; Vol 8, No 2 (2020): Left Behind? Women’s Status in Contemporary China; 47-572183-2803reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttps://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2673https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2673https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2673/2673Copyright (c) 2020 C. Cindy Fan, Chen Chenhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessFan, C. CindyChen, Chen2022-12-20T11:00:22Zoai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2673Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T16:21:50.478137Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
title |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
spellingShingle |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China Fan, C. Cindy caregiving; China; left behind; rural–urban migration; women |
title_short |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
title_full |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
title_fullStr |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
title_sort |
Left Behind? Migration Stories of Two Women in Rural China |
author |
Fan, C. Cindy |
author_facet |
Fan, C. Cindy Chen, Chen |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Chen, Chen |
author2_role |
author |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Fan, C. Cindy Chen, Chen |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
caregiving; China; left behind; rural–urban migration; women |
topic |
caregiving; China; left behind; rural–urban migration; women |
description |
Women being left behind in the countryside by husbands who migrate to work has been a common phenomenon in China. On the other hand, over time, rural women’s participation in migration has increased precipitously, many doing so after their children are older, and those of a younger generation tend to start migrant work soon after finishing school. Although these women may no longer be left behind physically, their work, mobility, circularity, and frequency of return continue to be governed by deep-rooted gender ideology that defines their role primarily as caregivers. Through the biographical stories of two rural women in Anhui, this article shows that traditional gender norms persist across generations. Yingyue is of an older generation and provided care to her husband, children, and later grandchildren when she was left behind, when she participated in migration, and when she returned to her village. Shuang is 30 years younger and aspires to urban lifestyle such as living in apartments and using daycare for her young children. Yet, like Yingyue, Shuang’s priority is caregiving. Her decisions, which are in tandem with her parents-in-law, highlight how Chinese families stick together as a safety net. Her desire to earn wages, an activity much constrained by her caregiving responsibility to two young children, illustrates a strong connection between income-generation ability and identity among women of the younger generation. These two stories underscore the importance of examining how women are left behind not only physically but in their access to opportunities such as education and income-generating activity. |
publishDate |
2020 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2020-04-28 |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2673 oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2673 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2673 |
identifier_str_mv |
oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2673 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2673 https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2673 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/2673/2673 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2020 C. Cindy Fan, Chen Chen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
rights_invalid_str_mv |
Copyright (c) 2020 C. Cindy Fan, Chen Chen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Cogitatio |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
Cogitatio |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
Social Inclusion; Vol 8, No 2 (2020): Left Behind? Women’s Status in Contemporary China; 47-57 2183-2803 reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
instname_str |
Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
instacron_str |
RCAAP |
institution |
RCAAP |
reponame_str |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
collection |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
repository.name.fl_str_mv |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
repository.mail.fl_str_mv |
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1799130664443838464 |