Mother–Daughter Relationships

Abstract

Parent–child relationships are an obvious instance of Jamieson’s (2011) observation that practices of intimacy are not necessarily egalitarian. Even into adulthood , when relationships could be expected to become less hierarchical, traces of the parental control exercised in childhood persist. In this chapter, we will focus on the ways in which the mothers and daughters talk about their relationships with each other and what this might tell us about family practices, practices of intimacy and forms of authority within British and Hong Kong families. From the accounts of both mothers and daughters, we explore some of the key differences between Hong Kong and Britain in the ways in which daughters were raised—particularly the greater pressures on Hong Kong daughters to succeed.