Knowing Your Role_9/30/13

This week’s reading, Children of Global Migration: Transnational Families and Gendered Woes, speaks on the oppression of the Filipina women in their household. These women are seen only in their nurturing aspects that can be contributed to the household. They are primarily held reliable for the rearing and educating of the children and other domestic responsibilities required to upkeep the home. They are not put in the position as the head of the household even though their contributions, although not financial, are primarily what keep the home up and running. They are kept in one area where they are expected to stay, the women that may have the abilities to be breadwinner by doing labor they are looked down upon for taken on such masculine roles in the home even though their jobs are often times ones that requires them to be somewhat nurturing or caring (nursing, etc..). The men’s role is to be the breadwinner and not do the domestic aspects of keeping home. This transnational idea of family is seen the United States, it is not until recently that the idea of an egalitarian idea of a household has become somewhat acceptable and that is generally only seen in the United States.

            These Filipino children have no other ideas as to what their role in “society” will be other than what they are shown in their home. That is the girls are to be domestic, rear the children, and try their best to not show any traits of masculinity. The boys are to work to be the breadwinners for their home and not concern themselves with the domestic aspects of the home.  This becomes problematic when a mother has to leave to work to provide for the family, the children are not receiving the same amount of time they would with their mother making them in some sense resentful to her working. However, when the father leaves not much is altered in the home other than his absence. The idea of family being held on a pedestal stems from the strong implication of the government trying to show its interest in being like other countries with strong family values. Yet when Filipina women have to migrate to work and provide for their families it becomes problematic, when in fact it should be considered an extreme measure to care for their families. These women migrate to work to provide financially for their families, however, when the father has to migrate to another country to work for his family and send them his earnings it is considered just another task as for the breadwinner. Why is it so problematic to allow the woman to be the breadwinner in the household? What is being threatened when the woman takes charge of the family financially, what is at risk?