Join us for a seminar including three of our brilliant PhD students!

13.00-15.00 Thursday 22nd February

Lecture Theatre 07, Arts Tower

How internal migration shapes childcare and intergenerational relations? Rural-to-urban migrant workers' childcare in urban China

Yingzi Shen, Department of Sociological Studies

China has witnessed unprecedented rural-to-urban migration since it implemented opening-up policies in the 1980s. The hukou (household registration) system in China divides rural and urban hukou holders not only economically but also socially. Rural-to-urban migrants (RUMWs) cannot equally benefit from welfare benefits and social protection that urban hukou holders have. Long distant migration and structural barriers have resulted in multiple problems in RUMWs’ childcare in the cities as the younger generation prefer to bring their children with them rather than leave them behind in their rural hometown. Confucian familism and urgent need of childcare support impulse grandparents to provide unpaid childcare whether willingly or not. This research demonstrates the intergenerational ambivalences and constant negotiations during childcare practices in the context of rural-to-urban migration. It shows how gender dynamics and intergenerational relations are interacted with care practices and the ambivalences and tensions caused by social policies about internal migration.

Strategies of Resistance: Resilience of Overseas Graduate Women Interpreting with Aspects of Patriarchy in Contemporary China

Xinyi Zhu, Department of Sociological Studies

Young female students who have studied in Western nations and returned to China after graduation are known as haigui women. These individuals often encounter a dilemma as they attempt to reconcile traditional Chinese values with their newly emerging subjectivity. This conflict has yet to be thoroughly explored. This study investigates how this process can shape the lives of haigui women, as they navigate the tensions and biases present in both their personal and professional lives. To investigate how haigui women resist patriarchal power while (re)constructing their subjectivity, this study draws on in-depth interviews with eight haigui women in China. By illustrating gender bias and social stigmas that women face upon returning to China, their stories depict strategies of patriarchal bargaining. The findings illustrate the long-term implications of transnational education mobility for haigui women, and their different forms of resistance and resilience to patriarchal power in neo-traditional China.

Migrant Chinese women’s online social support and its impact on their mental health during their postnatal period

Siyi Wang, Department of Sociological Studies

The aim of my research project is to gain a deeper understanding of the online social support networks available to migrant Chinese mothers during their postnatal period, and to investigate how these support systems affect their mental wellbeing. Ultimately, I hope to use the findings from this research to provide recommendations on how to effectively provide social support for migrant Chinese mothers through online support groups.