Introduction
Immigration has been topic of important studies and analyses in the modern society and there is a strong view that the focus of such studies needs to be modified so as to incorporate more significant aspects of the question. One of the most essential areas of such studies is immigration in relation to gender and specifically mothering.
Main body
“Immigration and Mothering; Case Studies from Two Generations of Korean Immigrant Women” by Seungsook Moon is an attempt to make a review of the literature on gender, immigration, and mothering. Based on this literature he “examines how immigration and gender ideology, meditated by a family’s economic situation and the employment prospects for educated women of color, shape the organization of mothering and how each pattern of mothering affects the power dynamics underlying the gender division of labor in immigrant families.” (Moon).
The result of the study has an enduring validity for the future analyses in the area and the article plays a key role in opening up discussions on immigration in relation to gender and more specifically mothering. As the essayist makes it clear, three important arrangements of mothering exist as revealed through the case studies. These distinct arrangements of mothering are:
- shared mothering based on transnational, trans-generational, and nuclear family networks;
- isolated and privatized mothering; and
- mothering after retreat from full-time employment. (Moon).
Therefore, the most essential factors that are dealt with in the article are immigration, middle class, mothering, gender division of labor, and women’s paid employment. The ultimate conclusion of the paper has an immense value as it offers an overall understanding of the issues of immigration in relation to gender and mothering as well as it opens up an important area of future studies in relation to immigration.
That is to say, the validity and significance of the article needs to be related not to the immediately available outcomes alone, but to the overall contribution of the article to the researches in the area. The article which incorporates a comparative analysis of two generations of immigrant women, indubitably, has an everlasting significance in an understanding of the relationship among immigration, mothering, and paid employment.
Seungsook Moon undertakes a very objective and all-inclusive investigation of the issue of mothering in relation to immigration, and the case study provides a clear illustration of the findings made by the author. The case study of the suburban middle class Korean immigrant women in the form of a comparative study brings out some pertinent conclusions regarding the issue of mothering as experienced by immigrants.
The arguments made by the writer have strong backing of the case study as well as the background of the immigrant experience. Therefore, the article is successful in moving toward some of the most essential findings regarding the issues of immigration, gender, and mothering. Seungsook Moon also has been able provide explanations for the type of arguments he arrives at and this is primarily based on the experience as well as awareness that he has got regarding the immigrant situation. Significantly, the conclusions which the author makes through the comparative studies challenge the existing literature on migration and mothering.
Therefore, the article invests extra care in amplifying the arguments with the support of reality based conclusions. That is to say, the author is particular to make research evidences, mainly from the case study assessment, throughout the article to augment the arguments. Whereas the current literature on the topic of immigration in relation to has stressed on the importance of paid employment, the present study “suggests that the gender ideology subscribed to by immigrant couples has a more lasting effect on the division of labor than does a family’s economic situation.
Because of the conservative gender ideology that constructs mothering primarily as women’s work, middle class Korean immigrant women’s participation in employment often is determined by the availability of shared mothering.” (Moon). The conclusion of the study, therefore, is the result of the backing of the awareness of the immigrant situation corresponding to the issues of women, especially with regard to mothering. The conclusions of the case study also assist the author in arriving at general findings about the relationships among immigration, gender, mothering, and women employment.
The arguments of the article which are clearly developed through the discussions and analyses and explicitly stated in the conclusion call the attention of further studies in the area. Immigration in relation to mothering is one of the specific areas which need detailed analyses and the attempt made in the article by Seungsook Moon is palpable. The arguments regarding immigration in relation to mothering developed through the article have a long lasting relevance to readers as these arguments are purely based on evidence based clarifications.
The case study of the two generations of Korean middle class women which makes a comparative assessment of the employment situations as experienced by different generations of individuals also provides strong support to the general arguments and findings.
On the basis of all these determining aspects of the article, it is most justifiable that the article reaches very important conclusions regarding the relationship among immigration, gender, and mothering. In other words, the arguments of the article are very much appealing as they are purely based on the evidence based researches, literature review, and case studies. The author also establishes himself as knowledgeable in the field and a reliable source of information through the conclusions and personal reflections regarding the topic and case study of the Korean middle class women provide him the most appropriate tool to make the necessary conclusions.
Conclusion
The author is categorical about the distinct arrangements of mothering with regard to the immigrant women and the types of arrangements pointed out by the article confirm the knowledge of the writer in the area. The literature review provides him the enough space to develop his personal arguments and conclusions regarding the ultimate relationship between immigration and mothering. However, there are certain loose ends in the article and the paper which claims to opening new areas of studies relating immigration, fails to specify the immediate scope for further studies. The author also leaves some portion of the question unanswered. These pertinent areas relate to how the case study makes application to large sets of populations which are culturally distinct.
Works Cited
Moon, Seungsook. Immigration and Mothering; Case Studies from Two Generations of Korean Immigrant Women. Gender and Society, Vol. 17, No. 6, 2003.