Long distance intimacy: class, gender and intergenerational relations between mothers and children in Filipino transnational families

Abstract

In this article I address transnational intergenerational relations between Filipino migrant mothers and their young adult children and examine how families achieve intimacy across great distances. I do this by identifying and examining the transnational communication methods Filipino migrant families use to develop intimacy, in other words familiarity, across borders. In my analysis, I address how political economy and gender shape the dynamics of transnational communication. By showing how economic conditions and gender shape transnational family communication, I provide a socially thick lens through which to understand the formation of transnational intimacy and emphasize how larger systems of inequality shape the lives of the children left behind by the global migration of women.

Ambient co-presence: transnational family practices in polymedia environments

“…This has changed recently with what is now a substantial body of work which has analysed communication as integral to transnational family practices (Baldassar 2008;Cabanes and Acedera 2012;King-O'Riain 2014;Madianou 2012;Madianou and Miller 2012;Nedelcu 2012;Parreñas 2005;Peng and Wong 2013;Uy-Tioco 2007;Wilding 2006). Studies have highlighted different aspects of the role of mediated communication -both negative and positive -for transnational relationships such as the way they amplify gender asymmetries (Parreñas 2005), facilitate emotional expression (Baldassar 2008;King-O'Riain 2014) and relate to identity processes (Nedelcu 2012).…”

Un double ancrage : liens familiaux et insertion sociale des enfants d’immigrés philippins en France

“…Comme le démontrent les études sur les migrations parentales, une telle séparation creuse un fossé affectif, voire culturel entre parents et enfants (Falicov, 2005;Legault et al, 2000;Parreñas, 2005). La réunification familiale ne semble pas avoir comblé ce fossé, mais a au contraire permis aux migrants interviewés de prendre conscience de son ampleur.…”

Transnational Parenting and the Emergence of ‘Diaspora Orphans’ in Zimbabwe

“…Parreñas and others emphasise how 'mothering at a distance' (Parreñas 2001;Boccagni 2012) today is characteristically dependent on, and shaped through the possibilities and constraints of new communication technologies, to the point that Madianou and Miller (2011) refer to 'mobile phone parenting' . While care giving clearly involves a mix of financial, practical, personal and emotional or moral support (Baldassar 2007a(Baldassar , 2007b(Baldassar , 2008, for Parreñas (2005aParreñas ( , 2001, it is the quest to maintain intimacy that is the core of transnational family life and most challenging to maintain (Baldassar 2008;Ryan 2008). Madianou and Miller (2011: 467) examine the restructuring capac-ity of technology: how "mothers use the phone to … micro-manag[e] their children's meals, homework and disciplinary issues".…”