Abstract
Transnational families are among the by-products of global capitalism, the feminization of migration and the globalization of care work. Transnational families owe their existence to the rise of communication and transportation technologies, economic transformations, and cultural features in their countries of origin and destination. A transnational family is different from an ordinary immigrant family. The defining factor is not the act of cross-border movement of the family, but the dispersion of the family, nuclear or extended, across international borders, where different family members spend time in one or another country depending on various factors. The emergence of transnational family experience relates to economic, political, social, and cultural factors, and has far-reaching causes and consequences. This study offers a new conceptual approach to the discussion of transnational families departing from Judith Stacey’s (1996) “postmodern family condition”. As a family arrangement made possible in the postmodern family condition, transnational families better describe situations in which families are not visible yet not absent, not necessarily broken but separated. Transnational families require a whole new understanding and definition of familial relationships, which should focus on the fluid nature of those in the absence of a concrete family setting. The role of immigrant women in such a family structure stands as a challenge to the stereotypical “modern family” as defined by Stacey; hence, enabling the conceptualization of transnational families as part of the postmodern condition. The impact transnational family experience has on various actors involved is examined by asking some fundamental questions such as: How are the decisions concerning who migrate under what conditions taken? How does the transnational family experience affect gender relations? What are the global and local conditions that make this experience possible? This study employs a three-layered approach to analyze the issue. First, the structural backdrop to transnational families is analysed; namely, the expansion of global capitalism that feeds female labour migration and the demand for the service sector, especially domestic care services. Second, the changes in the concept of family due to societal structural transformations and the emergence of new family forms are discussed. Third, the consequences of the first two aspects of the experience of transnational family life and its impact on parties involved at various levels are analysed: providers of care work and their families (parents, children, and extended family members), receivers of care work (employers and their families), and mediators of global care work (agencies and states).
Ethical Statement
In line with the “COPE-Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors” the following statements are included: The author of this study declared that the Ethics Committee approval is not required for this study.
References
- Aranda, E. M. (2003). Global care work and gendered constraints the case of Puerto Rican transmigrants, Gender and Society, 17(4), 609-626.
- Cheever, S. (2003). The nanny dilemma, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Cheng, S. A. (2003). Rethinking the globalization of domestic service foreign domestics, state control, and the politics of identity in Taiwan, Gender and Society, 17(2), 166-186.
- Constable, N. (1997). Maid to order in Hong Kong. Cornell University Press.
- Ehrenreich, B. and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). (2003). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Foner, N. (2000). Immigrant Women and Work, In From Ellis Island to JFK: New York`s two great waves of immigration (pp. 108-141). Russell Sage Foundation.
- Foner, N. (1997). The immigrant family: Cultural legacies and cultural changes. International Migration Review. 31(4), 961-974.
- Giddens, A. (1992). The transformation of intimacy. Stanford University Press.
- Goulbourne, H. (2002). Caribbean transnational experience. Pluto Press.
- Herrera Lima, F. (2001). Transnational Families: Institutions of Transnational Social Space in New Transnational Social Spaces, In L. Pries, (Ed.), Routledge research in transnationalism, (pp. 77-93). Routledge.
- Ho, Christine G.T. (1999). Caribbean transnationalism as a gendered process, Latin American Perspectives, 26(5), 34-54.
- Hochschild, A. R. (2003). Love and gold, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman, Metropolitan Books.
- Hochschild, A. R. (2001, December 19). The nanny chain, American Prospect, https://prospect.org/features/nanny-chain/
- Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (2001). Domestica. University of California Press.
- Hondagneu-Sotelo, P and Avila, E. (1997). I’m here, but I’m there: The meanings of Latina transnational motherhood, Gender and Society, 11(5), 548-571.
- Kofman, E., Phizacklea, A., Raghuram, P. & Sales, R. (2000). Gender and international migration in Europe. Routledge.
- Lan, P. C. (2003a). Maid or madam? Filipina migrant workers and the continuity of domestic labor, Gender and Society, 17(2), 187-208.
- Lan, P. C. (2003b). Among women: Migrant domestics and their Taiwanese employers, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Litt, J. S. and M. K. Zimmerman. (2003). Global perspectives on gender and carework: An introduction, Gender and Society, 17(2), 156-165.
- Lutz, H. (2002). At your service madam! The globalization of domestic service, Feminist Review, 70, 89-104.
- Nakano Glenn, E. (1986). Issei, nisei, warbride. Temple University Press.
- Parreñas, R. S. (2003). The care crisis in the Philippines: Children and transnational families in the new global economy, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Parreñas, R. S. (2001a). Mothering from a distance: Emotions, gender, and inter-generational relations in Filipino transnational families, Feminist Studies, 27(2), 361-390.
- Parreñas, R. S. (2001b). Servants of globalization: Women, migration and domestic work. Stanford University Press.
- Pries, L. (Ed.) (2001). New transnational social spaces: International migration and transnational companies in the early twenty-first century. Routledge.
- Raijman, R., S. Schammah-Gesser, A. Kemp. (2003). International migration, domestic work, and care work undocumented Latina migrants in Israel, Gender and Society, 17(5), 727-749.
- Rollins, J. (1985). Between women domestics and their employers. Temple University Press.
- Rosas, A. Unpublished Manuscript (2004). Mucho mas que mujeres abondonadas: The cultural politics of bracero labor and marriage in Mexico and the United States, 1942-1947.
- Rotkirch, A. (2001). The internationalisation of intimacy: A study of the chains of care, [Paper presentation]. The 5th Conference of the European Sociological Association, Visions and Divisions, Helsinki, Finland
- Sassen, S. (1998). Notes on the Incorporation of Third World Women into Wage Labor Through Immigration and Offshore Production, In Globalization and Its Discontents. The New Press.
- Stacey, J. (1996). In the name of the family rethinking family values in the postmodern age. Beacon Press.
- Stacey, J. (1991). Brave new families: Stories of domestic upheaval in late twentieth century America. Basic Books.
- Stern, S. (1995). The secret history of gender. University of North Carolina Press.
Abstract
Ulusötesi aileler küresel kapitalizmin, göçün kadınsılaşmasının ve bakım işinin küreselleşmesinin yan ürünleri arasındadır. Ulusötesi aileler varlıklarını, menşe ve varış ülkelerindeki iletişim ve ulaşım teknolojilerinin yükselişine, ekonomik dönüşümlere ve kültürel özelliklere borçludur. Ulusötesi bir aile, sıradan bir göçmen aileden farklıdır. Tanımlayıcı faktör, ailenin sınır ötesi hareketi değil, farklı aile üyelerinin çeşitli diğer faktörlere bağlı olarak bir veya diğer ülkede zaman geçirdiği, ailenin çekirdek veya geniş uluslararası sınırların ötesine dağılmasıdır. Ulusötesi aile deneyiminin ortaya çıkışı ekonomik, politik, sosyal ve kültürel faktörlerle ilgilidir ve geniş kapsamlı nedenleri ve sonuçları vardır. Bu çalışma, Judith Stacey'nin (1996) “postmodern aile durumu”ndan yola çıkarak, ulusötesi ailelerin tartışılmasına yeni bir kavramsal yaklaşım sunmaktadır. Postmodern aile koşullarında mümkün kılınan bir aile düzenlemesi olarak ulusötesi aileler, ailelerin görünür olmadığı ancak yok olmadığı, mutlaka parçalanmış değil fakat ayrılmış olduğu durumları daha iyi tanımlar. Ulusötesi aileler, somut bir aile ortamının yokluğunda, aile ilişkilerinin değişken doğasına odaklanan yepyeni bir anlayış ve tanım gerektirir. Göçmen kadınların böyle bir aile yapısındaki rolü, Stacey'nin tanımladığı kalıplaşmış "modern aile"ye karşı bir meydan okuma olarak durmakta ve dolayısıyla ulusötesi ailelerin postmodern durumun bir parçası olarak kavramsallaştırılmasına olanak tanımaktadır. Ulusötesi aile deneyiminin ilgili çeşitli aktörler üzerindeki etkisi, aşağıdaki türden bazı temel sorular sorularak incelenmektedir: Kimin hangi koşullar altında göç edeceğine ilişkin kararlar nasıl alınmaktadır? Ulusötesi aile deneyimi toplumsal cinsiyet ilişkilerini nasıl etkiliyor? Bu deneyimi mümkün kılan küresel ve yerel koşullar nelerdir? Bu çalışma konunun üç katmanlı bir incelemesini sunmaktadır. İlk olarak, ulusötesi ailelerin yapısal arka planı; yani kadın işgücü göçünü besleyen küresel kapitalizmin genişlemesi ve başta ev içi bakım hizmetleri olmak üzere hizmet sektörüne olan talebin artmasını analiz etmektedir. İkinci olarak, toplumsal yapısal dönüşümlere bağlı olarak aile kavramında yaşanan değişimler ve yeni aile biçimlerinin ortaya çıkışı tartışılmaktadır. Çalışmanın üçüncü katmanında ise ulusötesi aile yaşamının fiili deneyimine ilişkin ilk iki hususun sonuçları ile bunun çeşitli düzeylerde ilgili taraflar (bakım emeği sağlayıcıları ve onların aileleri-ebeveynler, çocuklar ve geniş aile üyeleri; bakım emeğini alanlar-işverenler ve aileleri ve küresel bakım işinin aracıları -kurumlar ve devletler) üzerindeki etkisi analiz edilmektedir.
Ethical Statement
“COPE-Dergi Editörleri İçin Davranış Kuralları ve En İyi Uygulama İlkeleri” çerçevesinde aşağıdaki beyanlara yer verilmiştir: Bu çalışmanın yazarı bu çalışma için Etik Kurul onayı gerekmediğini beyan etmiştir.
References
- Aranda, E. M. (2003). Global care work and gendered constraints the case of Puerto Rican transmigrants, Gender and Society, 17(4), 609-626.
- Cheever, S. (2003). The nanny dilemma, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Cheng, S. A. (2003). Rethinking the globalization of domestic service foreign domestics, state control, and the politics of identity in Taiwan, Gender and Society, 17(2), 166-186.
- Constable, N. (1997). Maid to order in Hong Kong. Cornell University Press.
- Ehrenreich, B. and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). (2003). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Foner, N. (2000). Immigrant Women and Work, In From Ellis Island to JFK: New York`s two great waves of immigration (pp. 108-141). Russell Sage Foundation.
- Foner, N. (1997). The immigrant family: Cultural legacies and cultural changes. International Migration Review. 31(4), 961-974.
- Giddens, A. (1992). The transformation of intimacy. Stanford University Press.
- Goulbourne, H. (2002). Caribbean transnational experience. Pluto Press.
- Herrera Lima, F. (2001). Transnational Families: Institutions of Transnational Social Space in New Transnational Social Spaces, In L. Pries, (Ed.), Routledge research in transnationalism, (pp. 77-93). Routledge.
- Ho, Christine G.T. (1999). Caribbean transnationalism as a gendered process, Latin American Perspectives, 26(5), 34-54.
- Hochschild, A. R. (2003). Love and gold, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman, Metropolitan Books.
- Hochschild, A. R. (2001, December 19). The nanny chain, American Prospect, https://prospect.org/features/nanny-chain/
- Hondagneu-Sotelo, P. (2001). Domestica. University of California Press.
- Hondagneu-Sotelo, P and Avila, E. (1997). I’m here, but I’m there: The meanings of Latina transnational motherhood, Gender and Society, 11(5), 548-571.
- Kofman, E., Phizacklea, A., Raghuram, P. & Sales, R. (2000). Gender and international migration in Europe. Routledge.
- Lan, P. C. (2003a). Maid or madam? Filipina migrant workers and the continuity of domestic labor, Gender and Society, 17(2), 187-208.
- Lan, P. C. (2003b). Among women: Migrant domestics and their Taiwanese employers, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Litt, J. S. and M. K. Zimmerman. (2003). Global perspectives on gender and carework: An introduction, Gender and Society, 17(2), 156-165.
- Lutz, H. (2002). At your service madam! The globalization of domestic service, Feminist Review, 70, 89-104.
- Nakano Glenn, E. (1986). Issei, nisei, warbride. Temple University Press.
- Parreñas, R. S. (2003). The care crisis in the Philippines: Children and transnational families in the new global economy, In B. Ehrenreich and A. R. Hochschild (Eds.). Global woman. Metropolitan Books.
- Parreñas, R. S. (2001a). Mothering from a distance: Emotions, gender, and inter-generational relations in Filipino transnational families, Feminist Studies, 27(2), 361-390.
- Parreñas, R. S. (2001b). Servants of globalization: Women, migration and domestic work. Stanford University Press.
- Pries, L. (Ed.) (2001). New transnational social spaces: International migration and transnational companies in the early twenty-first century. Routledge.
- Raijman, R., S. Schammah-Gesser, A. Kemp. (2003). International migration, domestic work, and care work undocumented Latina migrants in Israel, Gender and Society, 17(5), 727-749.
- Rollins, J. (1985). Between women domestics and their employers. Temple University Press.
- Rosas, A. Unpublished Manuscript (2004). Mucho mas que mujeres abondonadas: The cultural politics of bracero labor and marriage in Mexico and the United States, 1942-1947.
- Rotkirch, A. (2001). The internationalisation of intimacy: A study of the chains of care, [Paper presentation]. The 5th Conference of the European Sociological Association, Visions and Divisions, Helsinki, Finland
- Sassen, S. (1998). Notes on the Incorporation of Third World Women into Wage Labor Through Immigration and Offshore Production, In Globalization and Its Discontents. The New Press.
- Stacey, J. (1996). In the name of the family rethinking family values in the postmodern age. Beacon Press.
- Stacey, J. (1991). Brave new families: Stories of domestic upheaval in late twentieth century America. Basic Books.
- Stern, S. (1995). The secret history of gender. University of North Carolina Press.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Family Sociology , Migration Sociology |
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | December 29, 2023 |
| Publication Date | December 31, 2023 |
| Submission Date | November 20, 2023 |
| Acceptance Date | December 8, 2023 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2023 Volume: 8 Issue: 2 |
