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An Ethnography of Cross-Border Life and Kinship from the Perspectives of Filipina/O-Canadian Youths

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An Ethnography of Cross-Border Life and Kinship from the Perspectives of Filipina/O-Canadian Youths “To Live My Life”: An ethnography of cross-border life and kinship from the perspectives of Filipina/o-Canadian youths by Jennifer E. Shaw Master of Arts, University of Victoria, 2010 Bachelor of Arts (honours), University of Victoria, 2007 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Jennifer E. Shaw SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Jennifer E. Shaw Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) Title: “To Live My Life”: An ethnography of cross-border life and kinship from the perspectives of Filipina/o-Canadian youths Examining Committee: Chair: Dara Culhane Professor Parin Dossa Senior Supervisor Professor Noel Dyck Supervisor Professor Kathleen Millar Supervisor Assistant Professor Habiba Zaman Internal Examiner Professor Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Rhacel Salazar Parreñas External Examiner Professor Department of Sociology University of Southern California Date Defended/Approved: January 24, 2018 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This dissertation concerns the labour youths perform in their search for well-being across borders. I draw from ethnographic, life story, and visual methods following 15 months of research with ten young people. These youths lived apart from and later reunited with their mothers who moved from the Philippines to Canada to perform domestic work. Through their stories of precarity, care, and hope, participants reveal how a good life or a better life is a relational construct with shifting significations depending on their past experiences, present conditions, and hopes for the future. Their imaginings of a better life, grounded in their understandings of happiness, hardship, and sacrifice, often defy neoliberal and capitalist emphasis on work and money associated with personal success, and instead are oriented towards time with loved ones, relational senses of happiness, and, in some cases, a return “home.” What they also revealed is the complex reconfiguration of home across borders where reunification creates and disrupts more complex social worlds that include but also extend beyond parents and nuclear family settings. Stories of friendships, romantic relationships, music, poetry, and photography illustrate how these young people formed relations and coped in ways often missed in literature pertaining to family migration and reunification. Placing youths’ perspectives at the centre of this ethnography ultimately reveals the living labour they inject into their social, familial, and economic lives to hold their worlds together through precarious times as they persist in living and dreaming otherwise. Keywords: children and youth; transnational migration; family; labour; Philippines-Canada; ethnography iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the youths whom I have known through the course of my work and studies. It is my pleasure to know you, spend time with you, learn from you, and serve you. May this work continue to break down structural barriers, amplify your voices and hopes, and build empathy so that you can be exactly who you are and want to be. v Acknowledgements I am firstly thankful to the youths, youth workers, and community members I met during this study. I realize that research takes time and labour from you, and your generosity was more than I could ask for. I hope I have done justice with the stories you shared. To my research assistant, Juan Victor Cortez, your contributions to the project were invaluable. I hope you gained as much and more from this experience as I have. I am appreciative of my supervisory committee. Dr. Parin Dossa, your patient and compassionate guidance combined with theoretical insights and poignant criticism sustained and encouraged me. I am so grateful to have you as my senior supervisor and mentor. Dr. Noel Dyck, your in-depth knowledge, experience, and awareness with child and youth studies pushed me to think more critically as well as affirmed my own positions in such supportive ways. Dr. Kathleen Millar, your ethnographic writing, superb reading lists, and honest conversations provided me with exactly what I needed when I needed it. I am thankful to Dr. Cindy Patton whose encouragement and support laid the foundation for my success in this program. Dr. Ann Travers, I will be forever grateful for your advice and belief in me when I doubted myself. Dr. Jie Yang, you reshaped my anthropological thinking early in my PhD in ways for which I am so appreciative. Dr. Dany Lacombe and Dr. Pamela Stern, thank you for your guidance and patience as I honed my teaching skills. Dr. Lisa Mitchell, you inspired my interest in anthropology and planted the seeds for this work early on. Your on-going support means so much to me. I am appreciative to Chantelle Lorieau, Kathy Godson, and Jeanne Persoon for your exceptional knowledge and guidance throughout my program. Thank you to those who read parts of this dissertation and provided valuable suggestions including Dr. Anne Allison, Dr. Paolo Bocci, Darren Byler, Allison Formanack, Dr. Hayden Kantor, Dr. Andrew Littlejohn, Dr. Amanda Robinson, and Kailey Rocker. It has been wonderful to create a supportive space together for writing and critique. I will look forward to reading more of your work. To my colleagues: Kyle Willmott and Ataman Avdan who sat beside me for the last six years as we underwent struggles, successes, and laughs. I am appreciative to Regina Belloso, Dr. John Paul Catungal, Ron Darvin, Dr. May Farrales, Marisol Belén Febres Cordero Intriago, Katie Forman, Natasha Ferenczi, Jelena Golubovic, Michelle Hagman, Carla Hilario, Dr. Sarah Hunt, vi Maureen Mendoza, Rene-John Nicolas, Alexandra Rogers, Jennifer Thomas, and Yuan Wei for taking the time to talk with me at various points; your respective work and collegiality positively challenged and encouraged me to do this research well. To my friends: Negin Naraghi and Michael Javid, Babette Santos and Rodrigo Caballero with Jade and Micah, Marcus Velasco, Corissa Sivorot and Adam Dahlquist, Katy Minhinnick, Warren Hooley, Christianne Paras, Jennafer Roberts, Eleanor Carlson, Lauren Johnson, Meghan Mergaert, Aviva Shtull, Jill Wallace and Dave Cayo with Lily, Silas, and Lucy, and Alysha McFadden and Edward Westerhuis with Everhart—I will always cherish our time together. I am also appreciative to my students in sociology/anthropology courses at SFU; sharing the classroom space with you was an honour as we mutually learned from each other. To my fellow contributing editors including the social media team at Cultural Anthropology, the work has been worth it all along and I am so grateful to collaborate with you doing the work we love. Marcel LaFlamme, Darren Byler, and Hilary Agro, it has been a particular joy working with you for so many years on our creative projects. Thank you to CA’s past and present editors, the CA editorial board, and the Society for Cultural Anthropology for creating the space for anthropology students to learn, grow, play, and publish. Thank you to my family—Mom, Dad, Kate, Chris, Cami, Pat, Ray, Greg, Jadeen, Avery, and Chase—for your on-going support, especially towards my emotional, mental, and physical health over the years. Sadly my grandmother, Muriel Loretto, saw the beginning but not the end of my doctoral studies; she is remembered and missed. To my partner Neil, it is through your unconditional support, willingness to listen, occasional proofreading, and generosity that this work and this life are possible and enjoyable. Funding for this research was generously provided by through a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2013-2016). Simon Fraser University and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology were generous in supporting the early and latter stages of my studies through the C.D. Nelson Memorial Entrance Scholarship and Graduate Fellowships. I am also thankful to my department and the Sociology and Anthropology Graduate Student Association for travel funding to present my research at conferences. I am very grateful for this financial support. A version of part of Chapter 3 has been accepted for publication by Children & Society. Any errors in this dissertation are my own. vii Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................................... ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................................. iii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ......................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1. Introduction: A life that is supposed to be for
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