Young rural–urban migrant fathers in China: everyday 'China Dream' and the negotiation of masculinity. Issue 3 (3rd July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lin, Xiaodong
• Is Part Of: Norma. Volume 14:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 168
• Page End: 182
• Publication Date: 2019-07-03
• Subjects: Fatherhood -- masculinity -- rural–urban migration -- China Dream; Men's studies -- Scandinavia -- Periodicals; Men's studies -- Periodicals; Masculinity -- Research -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 305.31
• DOI: 10.1080/18902138.2019.1574140
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1890-2138

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Drawing upon a study on rural–urban migrant young men at a delivery company in a southern Chinese city, I examine how they make sense of their private life as fathers. Situated within the pervasive national discourse of the 'China Dream' in which individual aspiration for a better life is advocated in line with the prosperity of the nation marked by neoliberal modernization, the paper seeks to understand how the marginalized urban working-class young men make sense of their subjectivities through a gender lens. In particular, I investigate the process of masculine identification in the young migrant fathers' narratives. It highlights the way the young men negotiate ordinary masculine ideals and familial practices of modern fatherhood, desiring a better future for the next generation. I explore how they navigate through the constraints of material inequalities (i.e. as urban working class) and the tension with their gender responsibilities/expectations within a wider familial context, in making sense of their gender subjectivities.