‘Without Men?’ Spatial and Social (Im)mobilities and Cultures of Migration of Romanian Women in Italy (1970–2020)
摘要
Although the body of studies on female migratory systems between Romania and Western Europe is now quite large, studies have focused mainly on international migration after 1989 and low-skilled women’s mobilities. There is very little research that adopts a longitudinal perspective, linking current migrations with those of the socialist period. Starting from the analysis of two generations of women from Marginea, a village in northeastern Romania, this chapter tries to understand if and how various forms of (im)mobility, skilled and unskilled, have intersected over time and if spatial mobility has translated into upward or downward social mobility in both Italy and Romania. Over the years, gender-based migration cultures have become established in Marginea; female mobilities are not isolated social phenomena but rather must be understood as connected to various other aspects of socio-cultural organisation, in particular those related to status and socialisation. Economic and social remittances play a central role. Directionality, frequency, control, and decisions regarding the use of remittances are key elements for understanding the different outcomes of female mobilities and intergenerational transmission of cultural values related to migration.