Abstract
The one-child generation daughters born to middle-class Chinese parents enjoy the privilege of concentrated family resources and the opportunity for education overseas. We focus on the “privileged daughters” who have studied abroad and remained overseas as professionals. Using three cases of post-student female migrants who were of different ages and at different life stages, we situate their socioeconomic mobility in the context of intergenerational relationships and transnational social space. Drawing on further interview data from the same project we argue that, although the “privileged daughters” have achieved geographical mobility and upward social mobility, through education and a career in a Western country, their life choices remain heavily influenced by their parents in China. Such findings highlight the transnationally transferred gendered burden among the relatively “elite” cohort, thus revealing a more nuanced gendered interpretation of transnational socioeconomic mobility.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 68-76 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Social Inclusion |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 28 Apr 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to thank Robert Walker and Jane Millar for their comments on an earlier draft, as well as the support from the three anonymous reviewers. This article benefits from the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant 18CSH011).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors; licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal).
Keywords
- Career trajectory
- China
- Gendered mobility
- One-child generation
- Overseas education
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science