Second-generation Women Research Articles

Thwarting the Tyranny of Fathers: Women in Nicole Krauss’s Great House and the Creative Transmission of Traumatic Memory

With Great House (2010), Nicole Krauss offers a choral novel that interweaves the lives of several characters loosely connected by a huge, wooden desk that one of them relentlessly chases around the world. A possible symbol of the memory of the Second World War Jewish genocide transmitted to younger generations, the desk powerfully materializes transmission in its potentially traumatic, obsessional, and violent dimensions. This essay deals with the way first- and second-generation women, in the novel, develop ingenious, creative but also uncompromising responses to the inescapable duty of remembrance. While the dominating male characters freeze memory in timeless, petrified representations, these female writers expose its terrible necessity while hiding nothing of the damages memory causes to witnesses and descendants. They claim a right of inventory and use the desk as an echo-chamber reflecting both the suffering voices of children and the dark presence of defaulting fathers and failing mothers, thus allowing for a new generation to be born with a more bearable heritage.

A qualitative study exploring the perinatal experiences of social stress among first- and second-generation immigrant parents in Quebec, Canada

BackgroundPerinatal psychological distress adversely impacts the well-being and social adjustment of parents and their children. Expectant parents who have migrated may be at higher risk for perinatal psychological distress due to various migration-specific stressors and healthcare service barriers. Limited studies have examined the perceived determinants of perinatal distress in immigrant parents, particularly men. This study explored first and second-generation immigrant parents’ lived experiences of social stressors and facilitators of perinatal psychological well-being.MethodsParticipants were recruited by convenience and purposive sampling as part of a larger study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually with first and second-generation immigrant women and men in Quebec, Canada. An inductive thematic analysis was performed.ResultsSixteen women (age = 34.8 ± 3.7 years) and ten men (age = 35.1 ± 4.9 years) from various ethnic backgrounds participated in the study at 7.4 ± 0.73 and 7.5 ± 0.72 months postpartum, respectively. Three themes were identified: (1) cultural pressures (cultural differences in parenting, gender-related cultural pressures, health and baby-related practices), (2) health and social service access (social benefits and resources, and systemic barriers in health care), and (3) discrimination (physical appearance or parental-related discrimination, gender-related discrimination, ethnic-related discrimination). First-generation immigrant parents reported greater acculturative stress (i.e. mental health stigma, health care access) and ethnic discrimination concerns related to their distress. Among men, barriers include feeling as though the paternal role was devalued by society and not receiving consideration by health care.ConclusionsOur results highlight different social factors of perinatal well-being perceived by men and women from various ethnic and immigration backgrounds during the perinatal period. Perceived factors include macro-level factors, such as a country’s social climate, health and social policies and services, and social aspects of acculturative stress. Our findings suggest the need for continued efforts to challenge and eliminate discriminatory practices. Interventions and resources directed at first-generation immigrant parents should be bolstered. Understanding what parents perceive to facilitate or hinder their psychological well-being can help inform the development of tailored evidence-based programs and policies to better meet the mental health needs of Canadians and reduce gender disparities in the treatment of perinatal distress.

Analyzing The Sense Of Belonging From A Bourdieusian Perspective: Women From Türkiye In North London

Analyzing the sense of belonging from a Bourdieusian perspective: Turkish women in North London Abstract The Cambridge Dictionary defines belonging as the feeling of safety and comfort in a given place. For migrants, defining belonging is complicated as it also means establishing good relations with other members of society. A sense of belonging encompasses being included in the family, the country in which one lives, and the group to which one belongs. This study sought to answer the question “How is the sense of belonging established in a diaspora?” It also poses the question “Does the sense of belonging differ between generations in a diaspora? This study was conducted in North London between 2017–2019. In-depth interviews were conducted with 8 first-generation women, 10 second-generation women and 7-third generation young women. Interviews were conducted at the North London Alevi Association. Although the first step of this study was to identify a sense of belonging and how it is established, also generational differences regarding belonging were examined. The analysis was conducted within the framework of Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and capital. Generally, it is observed that first-generation womens’ sense of belonging is still concentrated in the home country they left, whereas for the younger generation it is related to the country in which they were born or went there when they were children.

First- and Second-Generation Women’s Economic Assimilation: An Analysis of Longitudinal Earnings Records

Abstract Research on the economic assimilation of immigrants and their descendants has disproportionately focused on men. In this study, we examine the life-course employment and earnings trajectories of first- and second-generation women using a restricted-use dataset linking individual respondents of the Current Population Survey (CPS) to their tax earnings records. We compare the age-specific probability of employment and annual earnings of women of each immigrant generation by race and ethnicity from early to middle adulthood covering a span of 20 years. We consider alternative explanations for observed disparities including differences in the level of education and the timing and response to childbearing. Our analyses reveal distinct patterns across immigrant generations and ethnoracial groups. We find that first- and second-generation women are assimilating economically at a fast pace although significant ethnoracial differences remain. First-generation Hispanic women in particular experience low employment and earnings growth. Second-generation women have higher employment rates than later-generation Whites and avoid the dip in employment trajectories in early and middle adulthood experienced by the latter group. The higher employment rates of second-generation women cannot be fully explained by differences in educational attainment or the presence of young children.

Exploring the Moderating Effect of Generational Status on the Link Between External Environment and Entrepreneurial Motivation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs

This study examines how external environmental factors affect the motivation of first- and second-generation women entrepreneurs in India, and how their generational status moderates this relationship. We used a survey design method to collect data from 459 women business owners in India, who were classified as first- or second-generation based on whether they were the first or second generation in their family to start a business. We employed the partial least-squares structural equation modelling method to test our hypotheses and evaluate our model. We found that external environmental factors, such as education and training, financial support, government policies and non-financial support, had positive effects on entrepreneurial motivation for both groups of women entrepreneurs. However, we also found that generational status had a significant moderating effect on the link between education and training and entrepreneurial motivation, but not on the other three external environmental factors. Specifically, we found that education and training influenced second-generation women entrepreneurs more strongly than first-generation women entrepreneurs. Our findings have important implications for management practice and policymaking, as well as for the literature on women entrepreneurship. We suggest that concerned authorities should develop differential strategies for first- and second-generation women entrepreneurs, taking into account their different responses to external environmental factors. We also suggest that future research should explore other internal and external environmental factors that might interact with generational status or other variables to shape women entrepreneurs’ motivation.

Hypertension in Pregnancy Among Immigrant and Swedish Women: A Cohort Study of All Pregnant Women in Sweden.

Little is known about risks of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in both first- and second-generation immigrant women in Europe and other Western countries; such knowledge may help elucidate the influence of genetic versus social factors on such risks. We aimed to study both first- and second-generation immigrant women for the presence of all types of hypertension (preexisting hypertension, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia) during pregnancy. A cohort study was conducted using data derived from the Swedish National Birth Register, the National Patient Register, and the Total Population Register. We used Cox regression analysis to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 99% CIs while adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities. The first-generation study included a total of 1 084 212 deliveries and 68 311 hypertension cases, and the second-generation study included 989 986 deliveries and 67 505 hypertension cases. The fully adjusted HR (with 99% CI) for hypertension in pregnancy among first-generation immigrant women was 0.69 (0.66-0.72), and among second-generation immigrant women, it was 0.88 (0.86-0.91), compared with Swedish-born women with 2 Swedish-born parents. Women born in Finland or with parent(s) from Finland had higher risks, with fully adjusted HRs (99% CIs) of 1.30 (1.18-1.43) and 1.12 (1.07-1.17), respectively. Both first- and second-generation immigrant women had overall lower risks of hypertension in pregnancy compared with other Swedish women. However, the risk reduction was less pronounced in second-generation compared with first-generation immigrant women, suggesting that environmental factors in Sweden may have an important influence on risk of hypertension during pregnancy.

The risk of hemochromatosis among first- and second-generation immigrants: a cohort study of the total population in Sweden.

We aimed to analyze the risk of hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) among first-generation and second-generation immigrants in Sweden using Swedish-born individuals and Swedish-born individuals with Swedish-born parents as referents, respectively. All individuals aged 18 years of age and older, n = 6,180,500 in the first-generation study, and n = 4,589,930 in the second-generation study were included in the analyses. HH was defined as at least one registered diagnosis International Classification of Diseases 10th edition (E83.1) in the National Patient Register between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2018. Cox regression was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) with 99% confidence intervals (CI) owing to multiple testing, of incident HH with adjustments for age, cancer, other comorbidities, and socio-demographics. In the first-generation study, there were 5,112 cases of HH, and in the second-generation study 4,626 cases of HH. The adjusted HRs for first-generation men and women overall were 0.72 (99% CI: 0.63-0.82) and 0.61 (99% CI: 0.52-0.72), respectively, and for the second-generation men and women 0.72 (99% CI: 0.62-0.83) and 0.97 (99% CI: 0.83-1.14), respectively, with a higher risk found only among first-generation men from Western Europe, HR 1.47 (99% CI: 1.05-2.06), compared to the control group. Our findings indicate that the overall risk of HH was lower among both first-generation and second-generation immigrants when compared to individuals born in Sweden or with Swedish-born parents. An elevated risk for HH was observed exclusively among first-generation men originating from Western Europe. These findings represent new knowledge and should be of global interest.

“Iranians on one side, immigrants on the other!”: socio-cultural constraints to sport participation amongst Afghan women migrants and refugees

ABSTRACT In this article, we consider the sport experiences (as a form of active leisure) of Afghan women migrants and refugees who reside in Iran. In line with previous leisure constraint models, we theorised that constraints may impact current ‘leisure participants’; therefore, in this study, nine second-generation women were interviewed who were active in sport at the time of the data collection. The interviews aimed to explore the extent to which socio-cultural constraints to sport participation exist, with a particular focus on gender norms and how these may be constrictive to full access and enjoyment of sport spaces. A reflexive thematic analysis was used to create themes from the data set and three findings are presented here. Firstly, gender-based constraints largely deriving from family and culture are explored. Next, resource-based constraints of time and finances are outlined from a gendered perspective. Finally, racist and discriminatory behaviours from others demonstrate the intersectionality of gender and ‘race’, impacting women migrants’ and refugees’ sporting experiences. While sport has the potential to facilitate greater feelings of belonging amongst migrants and refugees, we argue that more needs to be done to consider the complex constraints impacting women, to ensure greater inclusion in sport spaces.

From women’s presence to feminist representation: second-generation design for women’s group representation

Feminist democratic representation is a new design for women’s group representation in electoral politics. We build on the design principles and practices of the 1990s’ presence theorists, who conceived of political inclusion as the presence of descriptive representatives and advocated for gender quota. Our second-generation design foregrounds women’s ideological and intersectional heterogeneity, and details a representative process that enacts three feminist principles: inclusiveness, responsiveness and egalitarianism. A new set of actors – the affected representatives of women – play formal, institutionalised roles in two new democratic practices: group advocacy and account giving. Together, these augmentations incentivise new attitudes and behaviours among elected representatives, and bring about multiple representational effects that redress the poverty of women’s political representation: elected representatives now know more, care more and are more connected to diverse women, including the most marginalised; and the represented are now more closely connected with, more interested in and better represented through democratic politics.

The paradoxical role of social class background in the educational and labour market outcomes of the children of immigrants in the UK.

Despite predominantly lower social class origins, the second generation of established immigrant groups in the UK are now attaining high levels of education. However, they continue to experience poorer labour market outcomes than the majority population. These worse outcomes are often attributed in part to their disadvantaged origins, which do not, by contrast, appear to constrain their educational success. This paper engages with this paradox. We discuss potential mechanisms for second-generation educational success and how far we might expect these to be replicated in labour market outcomes. We substantiate our discussion with new empirical analysis. Drawing on a unique longitudinal study of England and Wales spanning 40years and encompassing one per cent of the population, we present evidence on the educational and labour market outcomes of the second generation of four groups of immigrants and the white British majority, controlling for multiple measures of social origins. We demonstrate that second-generation men and women's educational advantage is only partially reflected in the labour market. We reflect on the implications of our findings for future research.

Diabetes risk during pregnancy among second-generation immigrants: A national cohort study in Sweden

Background and aimsGestational diabetes is more common in many first-generation immigrant women in Europe and other Western countries. Less is known about second-generation immigrant women; such knowledge is needed to understand generational influences on diabetes risk. We aimed to study second-generation immigrant women regarding the presence of all types of diabetes during pregnancy. Methods and resultsA cohort study was conducted using the Swedish National Birth Register, the National Patient Register, and the Total Population Register. We used Cox regression analysis to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 99% confidence intervals (99% CI) for any diabetes during pregnancy and specific subtypes (gestational diabetes, pre-existing diabetes type 1, pre-existing diabetes type 2) in second-generation immigrant women compared with Swedish-born women with two Swedish-born parents while adjusting for sociodemographic factors, family history of diabetes, body mass index, smoking habits, and comorbidities. The study population included a total of 989,986 deliveries and 17,938 diabetes cases. The fully adjusted HR (with 99% CI) for any type of diabetes during pregnancy among second-generation immigrant women was 1.11 (1.05–1.18). Higher risks were found in women with parents from Africa, Asia, or Eastern Europe, as well as Denmark. A lower risk for pre-existing type 1 diabetes was found overall and for women with parents from most geographic regions. ConclusionIn this national cohort study, the risk of all types of diabetes during pregnancy was increased in second-generation immigrant women. Diabetes prevention and treatment is especially important in these women both before and during pregnancy.

A Comparision Between Whether and How Western Fashion Represents the Identity of Upper-Class Women in Shanghai and Chinese Immigrant Women in the United States during the 1920s

During the 1920s, the city of Shanghai became a hub of Western influence, as more foreigners and Chinese individuals with overseas degrees brought new ideas to the port city. The growing upper-class in Shanghai increasingly had access to purchase Western products, specifically Western fashion on Nanjing Road. Meanwhile, Chinese immigrants living in the United States during this decade experienced varying degrees of Western influence in their everyday lives and how they dressed. The topic of this paper addresses an understudied comparison, utilizing fashion as an angle to examine the identities of upper-class women in Shanghai and Chinese immigrant women in the United States during the 1920s. This paper observes primary sources including photographs and a newspaper as a method to address the research topic. This paper argues that during the 1920s, most second-generation Chinese immigrant women adopted Western fashion to assimilate into American culture. However, the first-generation Chinese immigrant women mostly maintained their Chinese culture despite being in a new environment. On the other hand, in Shanghai, Western fashion became popular among upper-class women during the 1920s as it reflected their social and economic power; their identity became increasingly linked to progressive Western womens ideals. Ultimately, this papers assertion contributes to shaping a larger perspective explaining how the different environments of Shanghai and the United States caused the upper-class women in Shanghai and Chinese immigrant women in the United States to have disparate values in regard to Western fashion.

Gendered Consequences of Social Mobility: Second-Generation Immigrants’ Work–Care Considerations in High-Status Occupations in Norway

Across Europe, children of low-educated migrants are entering high-status occupations. While the research literature has accounted for the determinants of this social mobility, few studies have explored how social mobility affects the lives of second-generation immigrant men and women in different ways. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 62 descendants of migrants in high-status occupations in Norway, this article asks how second-generation women and men experience their gendered opportunities and constraints after achieving upward social mobility. The analyses show how social mobility brings the second generation into social milieus where their majority Norwegian colleagues become their most relevant references for how to do work and family. Both the second-generation women and men share a strong dedication to work, however, while this requires the women to challenge gender-complementary expectations, the men largely rely on gender-complementary arrangements. The analyses thus suggest that social mobility changes the lives of women more than those of men.

Constructing identity through code choice and code-switching

Abstract With the presence of Catalan, Spanish, and a variety of migrant languages, multilingualism in Catalonia extends across the region and is a regular practice for native-born and migrant residents alike. This study examines language use and its relationship to identity construction among first and second-generation Muslim women immigrants in Barcelona. Data was collected from 34 female informants in Barcelona, all of whom identified as first or second-generation Muslim. Data consisted of questionnaires and interviews which were designed to learn about the informants’ linguistic background as well as the extent to which they used Spanish, Catalan and their native/heritage language(s). As a further case study, specific instances of code-switching among the South Asian Urdu-speaking informants were examined. Results point to a generational divide in terms of domains of use. However, informants demonstrated a greater tendency towards multilingual language use rather than restricting themselves to single language use in specific domains, a reflection of informants’ self-reported code-switching practices, which were found to be a widely accepted communicative tool that serves an array of socio-pragmatic functions.

Factors associated with first-generation immigrant parents’ unwillingness to vaccinate their daughters for HPV

PurposeHuman papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates for children of immigrant parents are substantially lower than US peers. This study aimed (1) to assess the prevalence of immigrant parents’ unwillingness to vaccinate their daughters, (2) to compare by race/ethnicity the prevalence of immigrant parents’ unwillingness to vaccinate their daughters, and (3) to examine predictors of the unwillingness stratified by race/ethnicity. MethodThis study conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). HPV-related data were extracted and analyzed from first-generation immigrant parents (n = 784) with daughters 11–12 years of age. ResultsThe frequency of unwillingness was high for all racial/ethnic groups (43–58%). Non-Hispanic White and Asian parents who were aware of or heard about the HPV vaccine were less likely to be unwilling to vaccinate their daughters. Also, older Hispanic immigrant parents were more likely to be unwilling to vaccinate their daughters for HPV. ConclusionTo curb future incidences of HPV-related cervical cancers among second-generation immigrant women, efforts are needed to encourage first-generation immigrant parents to presently vaccinate their daughters for HPV.

“I was a prisoner. Jew. Whore”: Inherited Sexualized Trauma in Sonia Pilcer’s The Holocaust Kid

Although there is a growing body of literature on sexualized violence during the Holocaust, little scholarship discusses the topic of second-generation inherited sexualized trauma. We explore the subject of inherited sexualized trauma because it is not uncommon to second-generation women, as evidenced by the multiple representations of daughters of survivors who engage in Holocaust-related eroticisms. To make use of a generative case study, we examine Sonia Pilcer’s The Holocaust Kid. The protagonist, Zosha Palovsky, engages in Nazi-Jewess erotic fantasy and role play as a way of addressing, albeit obliquely, her inherited sexualized trauma. Drawing upon the power dynamics described in dominant-submissive sexual fantasies and encounters within Bondage/Domination/Sado-Masochism (BDSM) theory, we suggest that Zosha, by willfully submitting and allowing herself to be sexually dominated by a “Nazi,” paradoxically is in control of the erotic encounter. This control enables her to vicariously assert a measure of agency on behalf of her mother who was stripped of bodily autonomy in Auschwitz. Her vicarious assertion of agency functions as a means of negotiating her postmemory of sexualized violence during the Shoah.

The Testaments: The Difference within the Gileadean World

Margaret Atwood’s recent dystopian novel The Testaments (2019) revisits The Handmaid’s Tale by depicturing Gilead’s nightmarish world of the patriarchal order, which is established especially against women’s potency. The sequel reminds the contemporary readers of Offred and her miseries who told the categorised women of Gilead functioning as the Wives, Handmaids, and Marthas. This time, with three different female figures, Baby Nicole, Agnes, and Aunt Lydia, as protagonists/ narrators, who take place on the edges of the Gileadean order, Atwood transforms the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, told by Offred. The novel encircles Offred’s tale by shedding light on the subsequent events told by the second-generation women (Agnes and Nicole) and comprises the prequel parts that Aunt Lydia provides. In this way, to “destabilise [the] unitary vision of the subject and open it up to the multiple and complex reconfigurations of diversity and multiple belongings, so as to [emphasise] … the internal fractures within each subject-position, or the ‘difference within’” with this follow-up text. With the streaming narratives of the three women who set forth the intersected phases to destroy the totalitarian regime and reached “identities of their own,” the sequel maintains the intriguing magic of the Gileadean tales. This article aims to trace the outlooks of different female narrators who procure a dimension of “gynesis” through which the re-exhibited Gilead comes to its end via women who have taken part in the period of dissolution.

The Realization of Short-Term Fertility Intentions Among Immigrants and Children of Immigrants in Norway and Sweden

Immigrant fertility and the realization of fertility intentions are two topics of considerable interest in contemporary demographic research. Yet very few studies have explored the relationship between intended and actual fertility among immigrants and their children. Using data from the Norwegian and Swedish Generations and Gender Surveys, this article analyzes how both positive and negative short-term fertility intentions stated by men and women at Wave 1 in 2007/08 (Norway) or 2012/13 (Sweden) had been realized at register-based follow-ups three years after the initial interview. Results show that second-generation women of non-Western origin were significantly less likely than native women (defined here as Swedish-born women with two Swedish-born parents) to realize a positive fertility intention, whereas first-generation men of Western origin were significantly more likely than native men to realize a positive fertility intention. Western-origin men were also significantly less likely than native men to have an unintended birth. These findings are robust to controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics at interview. Possible reasons for these intergroup realization differences include group differences in the ability to predict future changes to demographic and socioeconomic status and in the motivation to pursue the realization of a reported fertility intention. This article demonstrates that exploring immigrant-native differences in realization patterns can provide information about immigrants’ ideational and behavioral adaptation to the destination country’s fertility regime that cannot be attained by studying intended or actual fertility alone.

“Using contraceptives is abandoning our culture”: A qualitative study of contraceptive use among Somali women in Finland

ObjectiveSeveral studies have reported that Somalis have negative attitudes about using modern contraceptives. However, little attention has been paid to the differences in Somali women’s attitudes toward contraceptives across generations and the attitude change happening overtime in Somali women’s attitudes toward contraception. This study explores attitudes toward contraceptives and factors influencing contraceptive use, among first- and second-generation Somali women living in Finland. MethodsThe study follows a qualitative design with data collection using in-depth interviews. Sixteen women were interviewed regarding their knowledge of, attitude toward, and use of contraceptives. Eight of the study participants were first-generation and eight were second-generation Somali women living in Finland. The data were analyzed using a thematic approach guided by a cultural anthropology framework. ResultsThree main themes emerged in the data analysis: (1) Culture influencing Somali women’s attitudes toward contraceptives; (2) information sources can work differently within the same cultural group; and (3) Somali women’s perspectives on contraceptives change over time. Cultural, religion, taboo, and knowledge resources are used to understand the whole concept of Somali women’s attitude toward and use of contraceptives. Hence, the study shows the diverse opinions of Somali women. According to the informants the main underlying factors influencing Somali women’s attitudes toward contraceptives were education, culture, misinterpreted religion, and social pressure. ConclusionsAccording to the Finish resident women interviewed for this study, Somali culture do not support the use of modern contraceptives. Even though attitudes towards contraceptives are slowly changing, there is a need for SRH education, particularly among first-generation Somalis. Second-generation women are generally more open to the use of modern contraceptives. The study also draws attention to the need to improve the training of health care professionals regarding the handling of culturally sensitive topics such as contraception use.

Psychoanalyst, Jew, Woman, Wife, Mother, Emigrant

At least seventy-two first- and second-generation women psychoanalysts emigrated to the United States as Nazism came to dominate Europe. There – largely in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich – from the early 1900s to the beginning of the Second World War, they had been at the forefront of the psychoanalytic movement; after emigrating, they were decisive in shaping the development of Freudian theory and practice in the US. Their contributions notwithstanding, today they are neglected and at risk of being marginalised or falling into oblivion. Using both historical materials and personal-history documents, including memoirs, interviews, correspondence and personal communications, this article revives and reconstructs the individual and professional biographies of eight first-generation analysts – Frances Deri, Helene Deutsch, Salomea Gutmann-Isakower, Clara Happel, Karen Horney, Flora Kraus, Mira Oberholzer-Gincburg and Christine Olden – and focuses on their complex multiple identities as professional women (the Jewish New Women of their milieu), pioneers of psychoanalysis, Jews, refugees, German-speaking emigrants, mothers and more.