Transcultural Motherhood

This book looks at female marriage migrants' involvements in their children’s education in Taiwan. This phenomenon must be seen within the context of international hypergamy, which has become an increasingly notable trend in many countries, especially those of East Asia. Female marriage migrants, coming to Taiwan chiefly from Southeast Asian countries and from Mainland China, often are depicted by the mainstream discourses as being incapable mothers, based strictly on their cultural-linguistic difference and arguably low socioeconomic status. This book cautions against this assimilationist and structural-determinist viewpoint, for it often ignores the agency of the female marriage migrant by looking upon her degree of involvement in her children’s education as being strictly the result of her linguistic capital or her family’s socioeconomic status. The author seeks to reframe such studies by taking into account the female marriage migrant’s active role in shaping her own unique adaptation strategy.