From Germany with Love: Transnational Family Networks and Daughterhood Constructions of Russian Au Pair Migrants

Abstract

Using biographical data of Russian au pair migrants, this article will investigate the phenomenon of transnational family networks from the perspective of adult migrant daughters. It focuses on role constructions and practices of daughters towards their nuclear families within the transnational social space, which stretches between and beyond the national borders of Russia and Germany. Transnational daughterhood shows how adult female migrants adopt a supporting role for their parents in the home country in spite of spatial distance separating the two generations. This article supplements existing studies about transnational family relations predominately focused on care provided by migrant mothers to their children. It argues against the understanding of co-presence as a pre-requirement for types of intergenerational solidarity which do not only encompass material provision but also emotional care, both being highly feminized role attributes in the support cycle between mothers and daughters.