On the Move: Women and Rural-to-Urban Migration in Contemporary China

In China in recent years, one of the most dramatic and significant manifestations of modernization and globalization has been a massive increase in rural-to-urban migration. Termed the "floating population," and numbering upwards of 100 million, these rural migrants are at the front line of both domestic and global capitalist development, working for the lowest wages in occupations that urbanites shun, and often in dangerous conditions with little or no security or legal protections. Women comprise a significant proportion of the migrant population, yet the influence of gender and the unique circumstances of women migrants have yet to receive sufficient scholarly attention.

On the Move focuses on the experiences of rural-to-urban migrant women in contemporary China and the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts that shape their experiences. Arianne M. Gaetano, Tamara Jacka, and their contributors present original fieldwork as well as analyses based on in-depth research in multiple regions of China to explore the impact of migration on the identities, values, worldviews, and social positions of migrant women themselves. This book also documents how migration transforms social relations, identities, and gender ideologies both in urban areas and in the countryside.