Children of Global Migration: Transnational Families and Gendered Woes

by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas

In the Philippines, a dramatic increase in labor migration has created a large population of transnational migrant families. Thousands of children now grow up apart from one or both parents, as the parents are forced to work outside the country in order to send their children to school, give them access to quality health care, or, in some cases, just provide them with enough food. While the issue of transnational families has already generated much interest, this book is the first to offer a close look at the lives of the children in these families. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the family members left behind, the author examines two dimensions of the transnational family. First, she looks at the impact of distance on the intergenerational relationships, specifically from the children’s perspective. She then analyzes gender norms in these families, both their reifications and transgressions in transnational households. Acknowledging that geographical separation unavoidably strains family intimacy, Parreñas argues that the maintenance of traditional gender ideologies exacerbates and sometimes even creates the tensions that plague many Filipino migrant families.

Genres: Anthropology

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2005

Reviews

[Koko · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapter “Gendered Care Expectations” has been a real and intense eye opener on the dichotomy of expectations between migrant fathers and mothers within a Filipino context that even I, someone with plenty of experience on the subject of Filipino migration, was not expecting. Rodney’s story, in particular, is stuck in my head, but more disappointing is how it isn’t the first case of its kind that I’ve heard of. Parreñas’ discovery that there has been a level of desensitization on the hardships migrant parents face because of the normalization of transnational families in the Philippines was so jarring but so true. I didn’t plan on writing any of this, the book was just such an amazing read that I couldn’t help myself. I especially love Parreñas holistic approach to the application of gender within the migrant experience as a whole: both in terms of how it dictates the job market available, and how that demand inevitably affects the Filipino family who has to give up its matriarch in order to survive.

The excerpts of her interviews with the children left behind by their mothers in the Philippines? When she asks them why they view that what their mother gives them is not enough? Their inability to completely put into words that sense of lacking, the jealousy that they have, that experience of loss.... haunting and real. The assessment on the outdated gender roles and expectations assigned to mother and fathers is something I’ve also lamented a lot before about Filipino culture.

Definitely looking forward to reading more of Parreñas’ work on this subject and others similar to it.

[Stefan Johnsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book confirms that having both parents at home is the best and that having a parent working abroad for a long period of time makes it very difficult on their children. It also shows that a dad working abroad provides less hardships on a family than it is with a mother. In both scenarios, having the parent who stays at home take on additional roles of their spouse does help. Also, how engaged the parent who works abroad is engaged emotionally with their family.

The conclusion though is to make a father take on more roles of a mother rather than arguing for the fact that either a dad works abroad or neither does it. This makes more sense for family unity and upbringing. Instead Rhacel wants to argue for women's equality and say that women leaving family's to work abroad should be more normalized. I disagree with this conclusion, and the book doesn't really do well to argue her case either, but rather supports the need for mothers to stay home.

[Valleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This incredibly blunt ethnography exposes the nasty, vicious predatory actions of the global North upon the global South where those dominant countries profit from the exploitation of cheap labor at the expense of leaving those impoverished nations struggling to survive in low-wage jobs with the only option to migrate to more wealthy nations like the U.S. to earn income where these migrant workers are often treated like little better than garbage even as they take on the lesser jobs Americans would rather not perform.

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repetitive but very interesting. Read for Families class.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as applicable to the issues i am dealing with of family and marriage in the global migration context but useful nonetheless

[Andrea Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read it for my class otherwise I would have given up after the first chapter. It was very repetitive.