Meng, Meiyun (2024) Sailing/anchoring : home-making of highly educated female migrants in contemporary Shenzhen. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.
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Abstract
As the epitome of China’s neoliberal transitions, Shenzhen embodies both rapid development and the profound challenges that it brings. Celebrated for its economic development and pivotal role as the hub of China’s innovation and entrepreneurship, Shenzhen also draws criticism for exploiting migrant labour and other adverse outcomes of its embrace of neoliberalism. Focusing on women within this context provides a nuanced understanding of the tension in Shenzhen’s neoliberal economic development. This study explores the dual nature of Shenzhen’s development by focusing on the everyday experiences of highly educated women who have moved from various areas of China to Shenzhen. It aims to investigate how these women navigate their aspirations and societal constraints across diverse socio-cultural contexts and life stages. The research stems from an 11-month qualitative investigation involving 26 participants’ life stories and home video tours. Through a life course framework, this study conceptualises the process of migrant home-making as an agentic practice, enabling highly educated women to negotiate their aspirations and specific structural gender norms. Central to this framework is the concept of ‘sailing’ away from constraining (socio-cultural) contexts and ‘anchoring’ in aspirational life opportunities. The analysis reveals that highly educated women, through internal migration to Shenzhen, have exercised a certain degree of agency in liberating themselves from entrenched hetero-patriarchal traditions that have limited women’s choices at different life stages, such as when they are single, become mothers, or pursue non-heteronormative forms of families. However, it also underscores the evolving gender disparities and the influence of exploitative neoliberal forces in Shenzhen, which can concurrently shape these women’s life journeys, thereby presenting formidable challenges to their pursuit of aspirations. This study advances existing scholarship by integrating life course perspectives and non-domestic activities to offer nuanced insights into the interplay of home dynamics and internal migration contexts. Furthermore, it unravels the distinctive migration experiences of privileged, educated women, contributing to a more comprehensive grasp of Shenzhen’s neoliberal transition.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Copyright Holders: | The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, who asserts his/her right to be known as such according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. No dealing with the thesis contrary to the copyright or moral rights of the author is permitted. |
| Depositing User: | Acquisitions And Metadata |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Apr 2024 14:32 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Apr 2024 15:40 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/53386 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.18743/PUB.00053386 |
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