Abstract
Divorce is, for many, unsettling and, for some, it can even be traumatic. In rupturing a significant intimate relationship, divorce raises difficult questions regarding one’s sense of self and life path. For migrant wives, separation takes on additional dimensions, disrupting plans for their personal lives along with their migration journeys. Divorced migrant women draw on various resources during separation and yet research has paid scant attention to the role of leisure within this. This article responds to this gap by highlighting how, for thirteen heterosexual and cisgender women who originally migrated for marriage (seven in Hong Kong and six in Melbourne, Australia), physical exercise became key to managing their marital breakdowns. Despite social differences between the women, physical exercise connected them as a group in how it offered time for contemplation; positive bodily engagement; and self-empowerment opportunities, thus revealing it to be a powerful resource for migrants faced with divorce. (150w)
Published Version
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