This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how female emigrants and returnees could use these as tools to achieve social mobility. The study has qualitatively investigated both text and oral sources from returnees to find reasons for emigration, effects of them regarding women's changing social contexts and results of migration, by analyzing the source material based on the concepts of rural and urban identity combined with perspectives on actors as tools for change-making processes for these women. The study has found that both external and internal factors regarding intentions with emigration, livelihoods based on business emigration, social networks and perceived identity, interact in women's perceived social mobility. The left-behind rural context creates a foundation and incentive for women to build an urban identity in the new American social context. The choice to return to the former homeland is not always a choice of its own for women, the social network exerts pressure based on old and patriarchal structures. The majority of returning women choose to settle in the rural environment they once left to care for elderly relatives. Most of them went home to Sweden with a return ticket to America and with intentions to travel back, which did not happen. Women's identity creation is given multiple layers and changed by leaving a rural context behind and entering an urban context. Intentions, livelihoods, social networks and their own perceived identity all contribute to women's perceived identity and thus opportunities for social mobility.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-110540 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Länsback, Josephine |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper (KV) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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