Where do we go from here? Exploring the future of mixed families between Italy and South Asia

Abstract

Family labor migration from South Asia to Europe is often framed as proceeding in a predictable pattern of “male first-time migrant, ethnic marriage and spouse reunion.” Migration to Northern Italy is no exception. Primary data from recent ethnographic fieldwork reveal a slow rise in mixed South Asian–Italian couples, which might bring into question the quandaries they face in raising children. This article considers the daily struggles in conjugal and parental relations in mixed-culture households formed by spouses one of whom is from a South Asian background, and the other is an Italian “native.” Applying intersectional analysis to the life stories and aspirations of such cross-cultural new generations allows for revisiting the commonplace view of South Asia–Europe intimate links.

Homestay, Sleepover, and Commensality: Three Intimate Methods in the Study of “Mixed” Families

“…Like interviews and observations, they require a certain level of trust from the potential informants. As Bonfanti (2021) remarks in her study of South Asian-Italian couples and their children in Italy, "conducting domestic ethnography is a tightrope walk between respect for privacy and involvement in the lives of families" (p. 64). This is particularly the case when researchers wish to conduct homestay or sleepover in the house of mixed couples.…”

“…In addition, researchers turn to ethnographic observations alongside interviews to gain more in-depth data about mixed couples and their families (see Barabantseva and Grillot 2019;Bonfanti 2021;Lapanun 2019;Maskens 2018). This often implies following the couples/families for a long time within their social spaces.…”