TRANSNATIONAL MOTHERS AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS OF MOTHERHOOD

TRANSNATIONAL MOTHERS AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ALTERNATIVE MEANINGS OF MOTHERHOOD Juliana Quintero Escobar Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Department of Communication Studies Indiana University December 2010 ii Accepted by the Faculty of Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. John Parrish-Sprowl, Ph.D., Chair Master’s Thesis Committee Elizabeth M. Goering, Ph.D. Linda G. Bell, Ph.D. ! iii AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members for all their help and encouragement. In particular I want to thank Dr John Parrish-Sprowl for his mentoring and guidance throughout these years. All his knowledge, experience and cultural sensitivity were a source of academic inspiration for me. I also want to thank Dr Elizabeth M. Goering for her enthusiasm in being part of this process and for her thoughtful and careful input. I would like to thank Dr Linda G. Bell for her willingness to be involved in this study to the fullest, for sharing her personal and academic experiences with me, and for making all kind of resources available to me. In addition, I want to thank my family for being so supportive and understanding. In particular, I want to thank my father for making me feel confident about my own skills. Also, I want to thank my mother. The completion of my study would have never been possible without her encouragement and her unconditional love. Finally, I would like to thank my dear Jorge for believing in me and for putting all his efforts and love into helping me to make this possible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 METHODS 18 FINDINGS 21 DISCUSSION 55 Theoretical Implications 55 Limitations and Future Research 65 CONCLUSION 67 APPENDIX A: Spanish Transcripts 70 APPENDIX B: English Transcripts 180 REFERENCES 260 CURRICULUM VITAE 1 INTRODUCTION During the 20 th century, production and labour flows across national borders have increased the frequency of transnational social structures, including new forms of transnational family configurations (Andersen, 2006; Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002b; García-Prieto, 2005; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001; Zontini, 2007). Due to labour migration in the globalization era, spatial separation and dispersion of families across countries are now common arrangements among both the professional global elites as well as among poor foreign workers around the world (Zontini, 2007). Among the most prominent explanations of labor migration is the neoclassical economics theory, which posits that at the individual level, immigrants leave their countries because a cost-benefit calculation leads them to expect positive net returns from international movements (Cerutti & Massey, 2001). On the other hand, at the family level, the dominant theoretical paradigm points at a new economics of labor migration, in which household members see in migration a way to collectively maximize expected income as they overcome local market failures back home (Cerutti & Massey, 2001). Historically, family configurations across borders have been composed primarily of an immigrant male income-producer living apart from women and children who remained in the sending country (Basch, Schiller, & Szanton Blanc, 1994; Jaes Falicov, 2005; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001). In contrast, in recent years more immigrant women are also leaving their loved ones behind in order to become their family’s main source of income (Jaes Falicov, 2005; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001). In many cases, immigrant women may even leave their children to be cared for by their partners or other relatives in their countries of origin (Bernhard, Goldring, & Landolt, 2005; Burholt, 2004; 2 Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003; Erel, 2002; Jaes Falicov, 2005; Zontini, 2007; E. Zontini, 2004) and some end up having more children while working abroad. Under these circumstances of geographical separation, the mothering role can be extremely demanding for transnational mothers. As Falicov (2005) noted, immigrant women “often become distant breadwinners who are peripheral to their children’s lives, as compared with their substitute caretaker” (p.231). Moreover, these new trends of female migration and motherhood across nations challenge mainstream western ideas about family configuration and in particular, about women’s mothering role (Bernhard, et al., 2005; Burholt, 2004; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003; Erel, 2002; Glenn, 1994; Jaes Falicov, 2005; Zontini, 2007; E. Zontini, 2004). Whereas in many western cultures mothering is generally understood as a practice that involves the physical presence, nurturance and training of children for adulthood, migrating mothers generally opt for physical separation in order to better their children material conditions in their home countries (Andersen, 2006; Bernhard, et al., 2005; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003; Erel, 2002; Glenn, 1994; Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997; Jaes Falicov, 2005; Parreñas, 2008; E. Zontini, 2004). Consequently, mothers who live separated from their children often experience social stigma of being “bad mothers” (Bernhard, et al., 2005; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001) and suffer as a result of peer pressure (Erel, 2002; Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997). Still, as more immigrant women leave their children behind to join the job markets across nations, several actively struggle to negotiate the idea of mothering in order to account for “transnational motherhood” (Erel, 2002; Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001). 3 Transnationalism and Family Configurations Family dispersion due to migration is not itself a new phenomenon of the globalizaion era (Erel, 2002). Historically, transnationally constituted families have followed different trends of migration including those streams coming from Europe to the U.S. during the 18 th and 20 th century. Although such phenomenon is not entirely new, an academic perspective on transnationalism and family configurations has recently arisen (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002; Zontini, 2007). During the 1990’s the idea of transnationalism was discussed in terms of the move of commodities and capital, particularly concerning frameworks of across-borders circulation of goods (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002). Globalization studies have focused on the analyses of socio-economic processes stemming from technological innovations in transportation and communication that have put people around the world into contact with one another (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002). Migration and Diaspora studies have documented people’s movement across borders in terms of tracing ethnic streams of migration and population recomposing within nations (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002b). However, despite the fact that transnationalism has contributed to the shifting and reconfiguration of families around the world, none of the above disciplines have strived to understand globalization at this level (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002). Up until the advent of the transnational perspective, the phenomenon of migration was understood primarily through the lenses of assimilation models and acculturation paradigms that emphasize bipolar ideas about the immigrants as “sojourners” or “settlers” (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997). Instead, a transnational perspective on family and immigration stems away 4 from these paradigms to concentrate in the emergent cultures and identities that result from the circulation of goods, people, and ideas around the world. Transnationalism urges us to understand that “the new emergent cultures and hybrid ways of life resemble neither those in the place of origin nor the place of destination” (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997, p.549). As Bryceson and Vuorela (2002) further noted, by studying transnationalism from a family-based framework “we are examining globalization from below, specifically from the point of view of individuals whose lives are largely inscribed by the membership of transnationally mobile families” (p.7). In this sense, transnational families embodied transnationalism and the effects that globalizing trends have on people’s lives and lifestyles, their sense of cultural belonging and their family identification processes (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002). According to Bryceson and Vuorela (2002), transnationally structured families follow a similar logic to that of transnational corporations, as they seek to take economic advantages and better opportunities across borders (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002a). Thus, members of such families are characterized by a pattern of moving back and forth across national borders in order to financially support those that remain in their country of origin. Because of their dispersion across countries, some research has shown that as families are obligated to create their own spaces and adjust their sense of belonging within geographical and temporal separation, family members’ attitudes towards place and ethnicity are ambiguous and subject to change (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002). In this sense, it has been argued that transnationalism forces the reconsideration of the understanding of households and families based on the idea of co-residency and physical unity and to take into account the possibility of spatial separation (Zontini, 2007). 5 Stripped off the idea of co-residency as the defining concept of family life, some authors have posited that transnational families are relational in nature (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002a). According to Zontini (2007), transnational families are constituted by relational and economic ties that aid the welfare and mutual support of its members and provide a source of identity. Through this shared goal of common welfare, family members of transnational families strive for a sense of cohesion even if spread across national borders (Ariza, 2002; Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002a; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001; Zontini, 2007). Traditionally, men have been more prone to leave their families in order to migrate for employment. Family configurations across borders have been then composed primarily of a male income-producer living apart from women and children who remained in the sending country (Jaes Falicov, 2005; Parreñas & ebrary Inc., 2001). In the U.S., these trends of family configuration due to male migration have been the result of immigration policies such as the Bracero Program (compose of Mexican “absentee fathers” who came to work as contracted agricultural laborers), as well as “voluntary” streams of male workers coming from countries such as Poland, Italy, Ireland and China (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002b; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003; Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997). In contrast, given current rising numbers of immigrant women around the world, Ehrenreich and Hochschild (2003) have described today’s trends of labor migration as the “feminization of migration.” According to the authors, half of the world’s 120 million current legal foreign workers are believed to be women. Like their male counterparts, immigrant women are also leaving their families behind in order to become their main 6 source of income (Ariza, 2002; Basch, et al., 1994; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003; Jaes Falicov, 2005; Parreñas, 2008; E. Zontini, 2004). In many cases, immigrant women may leave their entire families behind, including their partners and children. As a consequence, current transnational families are increasingly composed of “transnational mothers” living abroad and family dependents staying in the country of departure (Andersen, 2006; Bernhard, et al., 2005; Burholt, 2004; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003; Erel, 2002; Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997; Parreñas, 2005; E. Zontini, 2004). Transnational Motherhood In the U.S., the phenomenon of “transnational motherhood” has become increasinly common, particulalry among immigrant women of Filipino and Latin American origins (Ariza, 2002; Cerrutti & Massey, 2001; Donato, 1993; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003). For instance, in recent years the percentage of female migration from Mexico has risen from 11% during 1959-1965 to 28% within 1990-1995 (Cerrutti & Massey, 2001). Similarly, current numbers of migration also indicate that today, about half of the immigrants leaving Mexico to migrate elsewhere - including the U.S. - are women (Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003). Moreover, data showed that many of these women are mothers who leave their children in their country of origin (Cerrutti & Massey, 2001; Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003). Despite the significance of this phenomenon of female migration, there is a generalized lack of gender specific perspectives that can explain the increment in the numbers of women migrating around the world (Cerrutti & Massey, 2001). Some scholars argue that this lack of a theoretical approach to female migration can be due to two basic misconceptions about the causes of women’s migratory patterns: a) That they [...]... on the construction of a fragmented and temporary mothering identity These themes are, “It is like a blind date,” 21 The all-pleasing-mother Vs The disciplining-mother” and “It is like being two mothers. ” With respect to the research question about grandmothers’ role in the legitimatization of transnational motherhood, data showed that grandmothers’ attitudes towards transnational motherhood and their... become their grandchildren’s “substitute mothers are crucial in validating transnational motherhood as a legitimate form of mothering The themes “Mothering as a job for two” and “It is like having two mothers, ” primarily illustrate the role of grandmothers in the relational-discursive validation of transnational motherhood In the four sections that follow, each of the themes mentioned above and their... mothering ideologies with transnational mothering arrangements? RQ3: How do transnational mothers deal with the social stigma that stems from traditional ideologies of motherhood? RQ4: How do mothers reconcile their mothering identity across borders (i.e., with respect to their Mexican children and U.S born children)? RQ5: What is the role of grandmothers in the legitimization of transnational motherhood? ... in the U.S., and in many cases become full-time mothers to them, within the existent studies there aren’t any theoretical perspectives that concentrate in how transnational mothers reconcile their mothering ideologies with regards to their U.S born children and how this influences their selfperception as mothers Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine the processes of interaction and. .. making the distinction between good and bad mothering is related to which kind of alternative care giver transnational mothers choose while they are in the U.S (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997) In other words, whom they leave their children with affects transnational mothers perception of their mothering role For example, it has been reported that while Central American and Mexican mothers may leave their... stems from their violation to traditional motherhood norms 2.2 Motherhood beyond Physical Contact Despite their perception of their leaving their children for employment as a violation of traditional ideologies of motherhood, the majority of the participants (4) did not perceived themselves as “bad mothers. ” When inquired about how they viewed 28 themselves with regards to the ideal mother” role expectations,... disapproval and stigmatization (Bernhard et al., 2005) Similarly, in her study of Turkish women residing in Germany, Erel (2002) reported how mothers who had their children back home often suffered because of the peer pressure of “good mothering.” HondagneuSotelo and Avila (1997) also found that Latina transnational mothers frequently report feelings of guilt of being “bad mothers and that mothers who have their... separation from their children (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997; Parreñas, 2008) Yet, transnational mothers seem to feel compelled to take on the provider role, 8 even if this means being physically separated from their children for a prolonged period of time (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997) Transnational Mothers and the Construction of New Meanings of Motherhood The new trends of female migration and transnational. .. leave their children with the children's fathers, other female kin or with paid caregivers, both groups of mothers showed preferences for grandmothers as the ideal caregivers (Hondagneu-Sotelo & Avila, 1997) It has been suggested that by preferring the children’s biological grandmother the “violation” of the cultural precept of the presence and nurturance of the biological mother is “rehabilitated” (Hondagneu-Sotelo... their new role as breadwinners and economic pillars of their families, immigrant women renegotiate their gender role and construct alternative meanings of motherhood Because their families usually see migration abroad as a good way for solving the entire family's financial difficulties, transnational mothers often receive the approval and emotional support from their relatives Thus, transnational mothers . to the cultural ideal of full- time mothering. In fact, at the time they have children back in their countries of origin, many transnational mothers may even advocate a full- time mothering commitment. I would like to thank Dr Linda G. Bell for her willingness to be involved in this study to the fullest, for sharing her personal and academic experiences with me, and for making all kind of. color in the U.S. have rarely had access to the socioeconomic privileges that allow a mother to a full time commitment to childrearing (Glenn, 1994; Glenn, et al., 1994; Hondagneu-Sotelo &