Mothering in the Transnational Space. Mobility and evolving care choices in Moldavan Female migration to Italy

Abstract

Mobility and parenting are deeply intertwined. On one hand, the former situates the latter within a broader transnational space where care practices and choices related to parenting roles are shaped by norms, values, ideals, aspirations, and needs spanning different cultural contexts (the country of origin, the host country, and sometimes the different “elsewhere” where diasporic networks extend). On the other hand, the evolution of parenting and caregiving priorities throughout the life course influences parents’ migratory project, leading to choices – also depending on the chances that unfold in both the country of origin and destination – such as settlement, re-migration, or return. By connecting different levels (local, national, and transnational) and the diverse temporalities of the Moldovan migration to Italy, the paper analyzes the mobility-parenting nexus in the transnational space, highlighting the constraints and opportunities that arise at the intersection of broader economic, socio-cultural, juridical processes, and priorities that change in different phases of mothers’ and fathers’ life course.