Isolation and immunity within the family: Commuter marriages in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This article examines the gendered subjectivities and family ideologies of commuter wives and commuter husbands in Southeast Asia, in relation to being part of bilateral households and multigeneration extended families. It emphasizes that, first, the understanding of gendered subjectivities should come from looking at femininities alongside masculinities, and second, despite criticisms, there is still value in using family ideology in examining family life that is consistently experiencing changes within the broader socio-political contexts. The article analyzes ethnographic accounts and in-depth interviews with rural families in Malaysia and the Philippines by engaging with the concepts of transient subjectivities and particular family ideology. While literature on commuter marriages sees the phenomenon as middle class, career driven, and temporary, the article reveals that the case is different for societies where jobs are almost constantly precarious and where couples do not have the luxury of time to settle for a transitory lifestyle. It proposes the concepts of ‘family isolation’ and ‘family immunity’ as a result of multiple gendered subjectivities and discusses their formation in line with the particular family ideologies that farming families in Southeast Asia adhere to.