The Materiality of the Imagined Family

This is a sel -a chi ed e sion o an o iginal a icle. This e sion may di e om he o iginal in pagina ion and ypog aphic de ails. Au ho (s): Ti le: Yea : Ve sion: Copy igh : Righ s: Righ s u l: Please ci e he o iginal e sion: CC BY 4.0 h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ The Ma e iali y o he Imagined Family © Museum Tusculanum P ess 2013 Published e sion 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 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 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 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 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 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 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). Re e ences Aga wal, Bina 1997: Ba gaining and Gende Rela ions: Wi hin and Beyond he Household. Feminis Economics 3:1, 1–51. Becke , Ga y 1965: A Theo y o he Alloca ion o Time. Eco- nomic Jou nal 299:75, 493–517. Becke , Ga y 1974: A Theo y o Ma iage: Pa II. Jou nal o Poli ical Economy 82:2, 11–26. Becke , Ga y 1981: A T ea ise on he Family. Camb idge, Mass.: Ha a d Uni e si y P ess. Chan , Syl ia 2006: Re- hinking he “Feminiza ion o Po - e y” in Rela ion o Agg ega e Gende Indices. Jou nal o Human De elopmen 7:2, 201–220. Chan , Syl ia 2008: Beyond Incomes: A New Take on he Feminisa ion o Po e y. In: Po e y in Focus: Gende In- equali y. In e na ional Po e y Cen e , www.undp-po e - ycen e.o g. Chayano , Aleksand 1966: The Theo y o Peasan Economy. Edi ed by Daniel Tho ne , Basile Ke blay & R.E.F. Smi h. Homewood, IL: Richa d I win. Collie , Jane & Michelle Rosaldo 1981: Poli ics and Gende in Simple Socie ies. In: She y O ne & Ha ie Whi ehead (eds.), Sexual Meanings: The Cul u al Cons uc ion o Gen- de and Sexuali y. Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess. Delphy, Ch is ine 1984: Close o Home: A Ma e ialis Analysis o Women’s Opp ession. London: Hu chinson. Guye , Jane & Pauline Pe e s 1987: Concep ualizing he Household: Issues o Theo y and Policy in A ica. De el- opmen and Change 18:2, 197–214. Ha , Gillian 1992: Household P oduc ion Reconside ed: P oduc ion, Pa onage and Gende Poli ics in Ru al Ma- laysia. Ru al De elopmen 20:6, 809–823. Ha , Gillian 1995: Gende and Household Dynamics: Re- cen Theo ies and hei Implica ions. In: M.G. Quib ia (ed.), C i ical Issues in Asian De elopmen . Hong Kong: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess. Ha mann, Heidi 1981: The Family as he Locus o Gende , Class, and Poli ical S uggle: The Example o Housewo k. Signs 6:3, 366–394. Hochschild, A lie 2000: Global Ca e Chains and Emo ional Su plus Value. In: Will Hu on, & An hony Giddens (eds.), On The Edge: Li ing wi h Global Capi alism. London: Jona han Cape. Kabee , Naila 1994: Re e sed Reali ies: Gende Hie a chies in De elopmen Though . London: Ve so. 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 eThnologia eu oPaea 42:2 107 Kandiyo i, Denise 1998: Gende , Powe and Con es a ion: “Re hinking Ba gaining wi h Pa ia chy’’. In: Cecile Jack- son & Ru h Pea son (eds.), Feminis Visions o De elop- men : Gende Analysis and Policy. London & New Yo k: Rou ledge. Kon alinka, Nancy 2009: When Equal-Pa Inhe i ance is no Equi alen : Gende and he Value o Land in a Span- ish Village. In: P. Olsson & H. Ruo sala (eds.), Gende ed Ru al Spaces. Helsinki: Finnish Li e a u e Socie y. Kon alinka, Nancy In p ess: Gende , Wo k and P ope y. F ank u : Campus Ve lag. Madianou, Mi ca & Daniel Mille 2011: Mobile Phone Pa en ing: Recon igu ing Rela ionships be ween Filipina Mig an Mo he s and hei Le -behind Child en. New Media & Socie y 13:3, 457–470. Moo e, Hen ie a 1992: Households and Gende Rela ions: The Modelling o he Economy. In: S. O iz & S. Lees (eds.), Unde s anding Economic P ocess. New Yo k: Uni- e si y P ess o Ame ica. Phillips, Lynn 1989: Gende Dynamics and Ru al Household S a egies. Canadian Re iew o Sociology and An h opology 26:2, 294–310. Sen, Ama ya 1983: Economics and he Family. Asian De el- opmen Re iew 1:2, 599–634. S a k, Lau a 2011: 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. Helsinki: Finnish Li e a u e Socie y. Vuo ela, Ulla 2002: T ansna ional Families: Imagined and Real Communi ies. In: D.F. B yceson & U. Vuo ela (eds.), The T ansna ional Family: New Eu opean F on ie s and Global Ne wo ks. Ox o d: Be g. Yanagisako, Syl ia Junko & Jane Fishbu ne Collie 1987: To- wa d a Uni ied Analysis o Gende and Kinship. In: Jane Fishbu ne Collie & Syl ia Junko Yanagisako (eds.), Gen- de and Kinship: Essays Towa d a Uni ied Analysis. S an- o d: S an o d Uni e si y P ess. Lau a S a k is cu en ly P o esso o E hnology a he Uni- 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