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Reinventing Transnational Womanhood: In the Journeys of Migrant Women

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Engendering Migration Journey

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship ((MDC))

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Abstract

Gender affects how people are socialized, how they see and treat themselves, and how they interact with other people. By using the identity negotiation framework, this chapter examines how assumptions about gender roles and expectations learned by Thai migrant women are called into question upon arrival in Hong Kong and how, during their journey of transnational migration, these Thai migrant women reinvent their womanhood in the labor market and family life in Hong Kong. This study reveals interesting contradictions between, on the one hand, the seemingly homogeneous stereotype of traditional Thai womanhood and, on the other hand, the fluidity and intersectionality of actual Thai womanhood practices in real-life migration contexts. By emphasizing the engendering journey of Thai women in the labor market and family life in Hong Kong, this chapter highlights the intersectionality of ethnicity, class, and gender in the social construction of womanhood in the context of transnational migration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

    Herbary Cheung

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  1. Herbary Cheung
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Correspondence to Herbary Cheung .

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Cheung, H. (2022). Reinventing Transnational Womanhood: In the Journeys of Migrant Women. In: Engendering Migration Journey. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15975-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15975-6_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-15974-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-15975-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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