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The Ma e iali y o he Imagined Family
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S a k, Lau a
S a k, L. (2012). The Ma e iali y o he Imagined Family. E hnologia Eu opaea, 42(2), 103-107.
h ps://ee.openlibhums.o g/a icle/id/1103/
2012
eThnologia eu oPaea 42:2 103
The olume Imagined Families d aws welcome a en-
ion o ecen de elopmen s in ansna ional ami-
lies and hei use o echnologies. When Ulla Vu-
o ela used he e m “imagined amilies” in 2002, she
was desc ibing he di e en ways in which ansna-
ionally dispe sed amily ne wo ks wi h deep his-
o ical oo s in he colonial pe iod a e pe cei ed by
kin g oup membe s hemsel es. In he p esen ol-
ume, he e m “imagined” is in ended mo e b oadly
o encompass how agencies, ins i u ions and g oups
pe cei e he new possibili ies o e ed o amilies by
echnology and mobili y. The olume ocuses on he
discou ses, images and poli ical in e es s h ough
which unde s andings o mig a ion, mobili y and
amily a e socially cons uc ed and ei ied. I s au-
ho s ha e d awn a en ion o impo an dimen-
sions o hese opics such as indi idual expe ience
and mo i es, as well as e hical and emo ional dilem-
mas. The poin ha all amilies and kinship ela ions
a e o some ex en imagined is well aken, bu as he
au ho s poin ou , in many cases hese mos ecen
exe cises in “imagining” he amily do no neces-
sa ily esul in inno a ion in new amily o ms and
ideals. Al hough new echnologies and new poli i-
cal alliances a e some imes u ilized o dis up olde
assump ions o he amily as oo ed o ixed in a
geog aphic place, as in Timm’s a icle, hey a e o en
used o sho e up and p o ec conse a i e no ions
o he amily: o ins ance he amily as incomple e
wi hou biological child en, as engaged in close daily
in e ac ion, o as cha ac e ized by a gende ed di i-
sion o labou in mig a ion con ex s, in which men
a e expec ed o mig a e as wage labou e s, bu wom-
en a e expec ed o adop a passi e ole as he accom-
panying spouse.1 Families may use new echnologies
and mobili ies o expand hei oppo uni ies, bu
in some cases hey do i simply o ensu e he am-
ily’s su i al. I may be use ul o see he amily i sel
as a ma e ial “su i al s a egy” o indi iduals in
socie ies whe e o he social ins i u ions and g oup-
ings o e li le conc e e suppo . E en in Eu ope, he
cu en you h unemploymen a e o o e 20 pe cen
highligh s he con inuing impo ance o he amily
as a su i al ne . I is o be hoped ha his olume
will gene a e new in e es in how he amily is cu -
en ly unde s ood and o ganized in he con ex o
cu en challenges acing Eu opean socie ies.
As men ioned abo e, in each o he a icles o his
heme issue, he au ho s ha e chosen o c i ically
examine he discu si e dimensions o he ansna-
ional and/o echnologically-assis ed amily and o
b ing a en ion o he na u e and sou ce o he he o-
ic su ounding con o e sial amily issues. In a ol-
ume o limi ed space, his is a wo hy and jus i ied
aim. A he same ime, howe e , i has mean ha he
ma e ial causes and consequences o hese discou s-
es emain unde -p oblema ized: we a e gi en ew
insigh s in o how indi idual agency is impac ed by
he na u e o IVF echnologies, o by he oppo uni-
ies and limi a ions o mobile elephony and Skype,
by economic condi ions in Eas e n Eu ope, o by
he na u e o p os i u ion in di e en con ex s. We
ecei e li le sense o how amilial ies, which ha e
been o conce n o he Ca holic Chu ch in Hüwel-
meie ’s and Radkowska-Walkowicz’s a icles, his-
o ically ha e played a ole in he Chu ch’s poli ical
Lau a S a k
THE MATERIALITY OF THE IMAGINED FAMILY
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104 eThnologia eu oPaea 42:2
aims, in o he wo ds in he expansion o i s powe
h ough in e na ional ne wo ks o young mig a ing
nuns, o as a bulwa k agains he in usion in o p i-
a e li es o science and echnology, which ep esen
he main challenges o he Chu ch’s au ho i y oday.
Mo eo e , i unde s ood as a discu si e c ea ion
alone, he mobile amily becomes a di icul ca ego y
o his o ical analysis. Wi hou an accoun linking
he discu si e o he ma e ial, an adequa e concep-
ualiza ion o change is no possible.
Fo his eason, in my commen a y I would like
o ake up he hema ic h ead o ma e iali y which
is only implici ly p esen in he a icles in his heme
issue. By ma e iali y, I mean he physical and eco-
nomic aspec s o amily o ganiza ion and mobili y,
in o he wo ds li elihoods, esou ces and labou
(o he ma e ial aspec s which I do no add ess a e
he body, disabili y, sexuali y, heal h and illness).
As an adhe en o p ac ice heo y, I do no conside
he ma e ial le el o analysis o be logically p io o
he le el o social discou se, and i is impo an o
e ain om essen ializing such seemingly ma e ial
ac s as human ep oduc ion o he global economy,
which we expe ience p ima ily h ough he o ical
cons uc s. Pa icula ly in he man-made en i on-
men s in which mos o us li e oday, ma e ial condi-
ions do no ep oduce hemsel es bu a e oo ed in
human p ac ice.
I became in e es ed in he issue o amilies and
ma e ial esou ces when esea ching he i s public
discussion on Finnish u al women’s igh s, which
ook place in newspape s in he ea ly 1860s (S a k
2011). This discussion in he p ess cen e ed on so-
called “home hie e y”, a common p ac ice in which
u al a m women co e ly sold he p oduc s o he
a m household (chie ly bu e and g ain) behind
he a m mas e ’s back. Wi h he p oceeds o he
sale, hese a m wi es and daugh e s hen sec e ly
bough consume goods which we e impo an in
main aining hei social s a us as dis inc i e om
lowe -class se an women and labo e s’ wi es. Al-
hough mos who w o e o he p ess on his opic
we e educa ed social e o me s and a m mas e s,
se e al young a m women also discussed home
hie e y in hei le e s o he p ess. F om he 64 le -
e s published in Finnish-language newspape s on
he opic be ween 1849 and 1901, i became clea o
me ha he issue o home hie e y, while couched
in mo al e ms as an e il, a ice and a “sickness”,
was ecognized by many male and emale w i e s o
be oo ed in he p oblems o unequal inhe i ance.
Fa m mas e s who wan ed o sa e money needed
hei adul child en o wo k on he a m wi hou pay
a he han wo k o o he a ms as paid se an s
(a which poin he a he would ha e had o hi e
se an s om he ou side o eplace his child en).
The incen i e in ended o keep elde sons wo king
on hei bi h a m was he p omise o la e inhe i -
ing he a m as a whole, bu no such o mal incen-
i es we e p o ided o daugh e s. Al hough a m
daugh e s we e legally en i led o ecei e hal o he
inhe i ance ha hei b o he s ecei ed, in eas e n
Finland hey o en ecei ed no hing mo e han a
ew basic dow y goods when hey ma ied. Male
w i e s om a wide ange o backg ounds a gued
ha wi hou equal inhe i ance, women would ne e
be mo i a ed o wo k o he common good o he
a m bu would ins ead pil e om he a m’s s o e-
houses o accumula e he goods hey el we e igh -
ully hei s. Fa m mas e s we e epo ed as ha ing
adi ionally u ned a blind eye o he whole p ac-
ice, ye in he ea ly 1860s hey began o speak ou in
condemna ion o i . I concluded ha home hie e y
had ea lie been a aci incen i e o keep daugh e s
labo ing on he a m, one which did no unde mine
he public au ho i y o he a m mas e as long as
i emained hidden. Howe e , when e ail ade
became legal in he coun yside in 1859, consume
goods came wi hin each o e en hose amily mem-
be s who had li le oppo uni y o a el o dis an
ma ke s. Since a m women sold pil e ed goods se-
c e ly o he new u al shops h ough in e media -
ies, he p ac ice o home hie e y a e 1859 quickly
became expensi e o a m mas e s, as “gallons o
g ain and pounds o bu e began o slip away o he
shops”.
2
Home hie e y wen om being a hidden
incen i e o a isible emba assmen o a m mas-
e s when a m women’s wea ing o he la es ab ics
and high consump ion o expensi e co ee made i
clea o o he s in he communi y ha he amily
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eJou nal © Museum Tusculanum P ess 2013 :: ISBN 978 87 635 4114 5
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eThnologia eu oPaea 42:2 105
pa ia ch was unable o con ol he ac ions o his
household membe s.
Al hough o explain human mo i es solely in a-
ional economic e ms would be educ ionis and
coun e p oduc i e, I was in igued in my esea ch
by how a mic o-le el examina ion o ma e ial o -
ganiza ion and esou ce dis ibu ion opened up
new insigh s in o he linkages be ween economic
mo i es and cul u al discou ses on gende and am-
ily. Applied o he la e mode n amily, a ma e ialis
pe spec i e could, o example, explain why amily
membe s sepa a e in he i s place, why some mem-
be s mig a e while o he s s ay behind, why some
pe sons in es ime and ene gy main aining ans-
na ional amily ies while o he s do no , o which
speci ic amily o ms a ac he g ea es in es men
om hei membe s. This ques ion may be mo e
easily answe ed o pas socie ies, in which inhe i -
ance and socio-symbolic capi al (hono and social
p es ige) we e channeled o indi iduals p ima ily
h ough oles occupied wi hin he amily. Bu a e he
p esen -day unc ions o he amily so di e en ? In-
he i ance, o ins ance, con inues o be a highly pe -
inen issue o many Eu opeans, e en o hose who
ha e le hei bi h communi ies, as an h opologis
Nancy Kon alinka (2009, in p ess) sugges s in he
s udy o embodied inhe i ance. Kon alinka a gues
ha pe sons can be shaped, by hemsel es and o h-
e s, o maximize he use o he capi al hey inhe i ,
when, o example, diploma s’ child en become dip-
loma s o a me s’ child en become a me s. In he
a ea o Spain she examines, economic condi ions a e
pushing u al men o embody bo h hei own and
hei sis e s’ inhe i ances. Daugh e s inhe i land
and hus con ol some o he land a med by hei
b o he s. A new implici con ac be ween b o he s
and sis e s has ecen ly appea ed, howe e , in which
b o he s wo k ha d on he a m o pay o hei sis-
e s’ educa ion, enabling hei sis e s o be mo e mo-
bile han u al women used o be. As sis e s become
success ul, mo e ou o he u al con ex and ma y
non- a me s, hey abs ain om bo h using and sell-
ing he land hey own, and b o he s con inue o use
his land as i i we e hei s.
While a en ion should be paid o he ma e ial and
economic causes o amily mobili y o he amily’s
use o new echnologies, he ma e ial consequences
o hese p ac ices should also be examined, and he e
he e can be no a p io i assump ion ha amilies and
hei s a egies a e cha ac e ized by solida i y and
cohesion. In he 1980s and 1990s, an h opologis s
and socio-economis s3 unde ook a heo e ical e-
examina ion o he poli ical and ma e ial ac o s un-
de lying he amily as an economic uni and began o
pee in o he “black box” o he household, in o de
o decons uc he uni a y socio-economic model o
he amily which had p e ailed om he la e 1950s o
he la e 1980s.4 P e iously, he ques ion o wha wen
on inside he amily and household wi h ega d o
wo k and esou ce alloca ion had been o e looked,
and i esou ce alloca ion had been conside ed a
all, i was assumed ha esou ces and amily mem-
be s’ asks we e a ionally alloca ed by a bene olen
household head seeking o maximize household
u ili y o he common good. La e c i iques de ined
he amily and a m household ins ead as a locus
o poli ical s uggle in ol ing compe ing in e es s,
nego ia ions o e esou ces, and e en con lic . Pee -
ing “inside” he amily and household o pe cei e
he in e nal con lic s he ein would be a i s s ep o
unde s anding whe he we can speak o “ amily” as
a uni a y concep in, o example, he issue o IVF
in Poland: do wi es and husbands iew he concep s
o childlessness, amily, and ep oduc i e igh s in
he same ligh ? A non-uni a y, ma e ial iew o he
household is also impo an o unde s anding he
issue o emale mig a ion. Do we know, o ins ance,
all he in ahousehold ac o s ha push women o
mig a e? How a e o he amily membe s a ec ed
ma e ially by he mig a ion o wi es and mo he s?
Which ela i es can make claims on emale emi-
g an labou e s’ emi ances and esou ces?
Ma e ial pe spec i es on he amily may be e en
mo e pe inen o so-called de eloping coun ies.
Economic es uc u ing and he wi hd awal o he
s a e om social and economic in e en ion, he ex-
plosi e g ow h o he in o mal economy, and he in-
lux o cheaply-made goods o low-income coun ies
a e esul ing in se e e unemploymen and dep i a-
ion o basic needs. They a e also con ibu ing o a
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106 eThnologia eu oPaea 42:2
phenomenon which has been called “ he eminiza-
ion o obliga ion” wi hin low-income coun ies, in
which women mus inc easingly ake on he p ima y
bu den o he su i al o he amily and dependen
child en, while men a e becoming mo e likely o
dese hei amilies, wi hhold ea nings om hem
o ake he ea nings o wi es o und sel -o ien ed
consump ion (Chan 2006, 2008). Ano he conse-
quence o ela i e income and labou s uc u e di -
e ences among socie ies is he ise o global ca e
chains (Hochschild 2000), in which, ypically, a
Filipina woman who mig a es o wo k as a nanny
in a high-income coun y uses he wages o employ
someone o ca e o he child en in Manila, who
may in u n ha e he child en ca ed o by ano he
woman in he u al Philippines, who may depend on
he olde daugh e o ca e o he younge siblings.
Families may in some sense be “imagined”, bu
hey ha e also always been mechanisms o esou ce
dis ibu ion and he ansmission o weal h. In many
ways hey also se e as s uc u es which o e see he
o ganiza ion o labo . Families mus always ind
ways o su i e ma e ially om day o day, which
o en means compe ing wi h o he amily g oups.
New o ms o amily a ise when esou ces and li e-
lihood oppo uni ies hemsel es become edis ib-
u ed in new ways in ime and space (i.e. li elihood
oppo uni ies become seasonal o only a ailable a -
e leng hy aining o educa ion, o ce ain ypes o
wo k become cen e ed in pa icula geog aphical lo-
ca ions). These conside a ions gi e ise o ques ions
such as: How do changes in he esou ces a ailable o
amilies lead o di e en e-imaginings o he am-
ily? How do new discou ses su ounding he amily
a ec he ways in which amilies manage hei asse s
and s a egize o con inued su i al?
No es
1 See also Madianou and Mille ’s 2011 a icle in which
hey a gue ha o Filipina emig an mo he s, he
immediacy o communica ion o e ed by mobile ele-
phony has se ed o ein o ce adi ional no ions o he
mo he as domes ic ca e ake who mus con inue o in-
es ime and emo ion in he child en om a dis ance.
2 Oc . 19, 1888. Ka jala a no. 83, “Joensuus a. Maa a-
loudellise olo läänissämme”.
3 E.g., Collie & Rosaldo (1981); Ha mann (1981); Sen
(1983); Delphy (1984); Yanagisako & Collie (1987);
Guye & Pe e s (1987); Phillips (1989); Ha (1992,
1995); Moo e (1992); Kabee (1994); Aga wal (1997);
Kandiyo i (1998).
4 E.g., Chayano (1966). The uni a y model o he house-
hold was made popula by he wo k o Ga y Becke
(1965, 1974, 1981).
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e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland. He esea ch in e es s include
mode niza ion p ocesses in nine een h-cen u y Finland,
gende ela ions in Finnish ag a ian socie y, nine een h-
cen u y concep s o body and sel in u al Finland, as well
as magic, wi chc a and olk eligion. She is he au ho o
The Limi s o Pa ia chy: How Female Ne wo ks o Pil e ing
and Gossip Spa ked he Fi s Deba es on Ru al Gende Righ s
in he 19 h-Cen u y Finnish-Language P ess (2011, Finnish
Li e a u e Socie y).
([email p o ec ed])
Museum Tusculanum P ess :: Uni e si y o Copenhagen :: www.m p.dk :: [email p o ec ed]
K. Kö be & I. Me kel (eds.): E hnologia Eu opaea 42:2
eJou nal © Museum Tusculanum P ess 2013 :: ISBN 978 87 635 4114 5
www.m p.hum.ku.dk/de ails.asp?eln=300323