Borders and Migration Plan

  Borders are always gendered. Discuss. Must use at least two ethnographic examples. • Theories and historical aspects of migration and gender studies (general) (part of intro?) o Link the start of migration studies and feminist studies 1980s o Gendered geography of power (?) o Binary system of gender (male-female) led sexual division of labour  Link Ortner (1974) – women/private sphere (domestic/household); men/public • Osella (2000)* – migration in relation to masculinity and money o Explains concepts of the ideal Gulf migrant in relation to essentialized categories used locally, which shows to the ongoing process of one’s identity; such as the different style of masculinity one is labelled/adopts  suggest process of migration is a gendered process for individuals through social obligations (in relation to cash)/expectations/status and role in one’s culture and community o Migrant’s struggle to balance his role as the ‘financial provider’ for the family as the patriarchal male and his role within the community  Complexity shown through different local categories (different valued gendered identity) in relation to money (spending and saving)  Gift giving (mauss) o Ethnography written in 2000 – older • Ameeriar (2017)* – Downwardly Global (Ch1) o Contrast Osella in that there is more flexibility with migration of gender, due to the increase in global market  female immigrants/migrants who join the labour force breaks “gender barrier” role (Horevitz 2009:752) (outside/public sphere). o But shows that essentialist ideas still affect the labour market for women, including general/professional work – devaluation of women’s work  can’t find work (state of liminality (turner) and waiting)  shows border scope of other impacts: race, culture and otherness – complexity (‘race-neutral’) o (Ch2 – specific examples on foreign nurses/healthcare workers) • The concept of ‘waiting’ in migration studies enables us to explore the statement, ‘Boarders are always gendered’, in relation to marriage. o Elliot (2016) – waiting is fundamental for females: waiting for husband/marriage  Marriage – e.g. Habiba - outside world is imagined and has never left her homeland, yet her behaviours (constant interaction with the outside: dealing with documents for migration, calls) make her closer to the outside o Kwon (2015)* - waiting within transnational marriages regarding to love and money (remittances)  Similarly to Ameeriar - shows the flexibility with migration of gender in relation to ‘waiting’  Suggest/interpreted that boarders are ‘genderless’ (????) – (1) reasons of movement varies, e.g. economy, finance, stability, personal goals etc… (2) it is the individual’s experience that is gendered • Link to Edwards Said’s Exile • Said’s Exile* - Exclusion; not-belonging; outsiders; nationalism o Those involved in the process of migration, including families and loved ones waiting at home and those who migrate, experience some form of exclusion o ‘Waiting’ can be interpreted as being exile due to temporality + uncertainty with time and malleable set of possibilities  Kwon (2015) – waiting, love and marriage • Mrs Li and Husband (486-88) o Mrs Li stayed in China – traditional notions of gender o Vulnerability (displaced and marginalised in between space and time)  7yrs wait has become fruitless w/ no news of husband • Mr Ho and Wife (489-94) o Contrast to Mrs Li where it was the wife went away, but expressed discomfort w/ his wife earning more and doing the domestic work despite the fact that he is the patriarchal male (head of household) – money and agency o The shift of roles in relation to money and love  “insufficiently recognised labour of waiting made him feel feminized and undervalued by the market and his wife” (494) o Waiting conditions – pressure of legal regulations as well as responsibilities and duty to adapt new lifestyle and expectations  Zuluaga (2015) – difficulties to obtain visa, citizenship, documents • Jim’s experience illustrates this struggle.  Kwon (2015) – ‘Overseas Korean’; H2 visa IOM’s aims and goals provides general structure of how research for migration and gender studies could start. Ethnographies above provided illustrate some of the problems that IOM are working on. International Organisation for Migration (website copied and pasted) • Migration as a gendered process… • it is recognized that a person’s sex, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation shape every stage of the migration experiences • Gender influences reasons for migrating, who migrates and to where, how people migrate and the networks they use, opportunities and resources available at destinations, and relations with the country of origin. • Risks, vulnerabilities and needs are also shaped in large part by one’s gender, and often vary drastically for different groups. • The roles, expectations, relationships and power dynamics associated with being a man, woman, boy or girl, and whether one identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or intersex (LGBTI), significantly affect all aspects of the migration process, and can also be affected in new ways by migration. • It is therefore crucial to understand how gender interacts with migration and to respond accordingly. • Taking into account gender-specific migration trends can mean the difference between implementing a project that successfully addresses the specific needs and capacities of all IOM beneficiaries, and one that fails to do so and perpetuates inequality. • Given the gender-specific nature of migration, the following are central to IOM’s work: o advocating for equal rights under the law in employment and mobility; o combatting discriminatory migration practices; o understanding how gender affects the types of migration undertaken; o responding to how gender influences access to social services, economic growth, capacities, risks and vulnerabilities; o ensuring diversity and inclusiveness in consultations and participation in activities; o and addressing how migration influences gender roles and relations.