The immediate home and the distant home: Domestic workers' home-making practices and relationship adjustments in daily life

IF 1.7 2区社会学 Q2 GEOGRAPHY

Emotion Space and Society Pub Date : 2026-02-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-03 DOI:10.1016/j.emospa.2025.101143

Yifan Jin

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Cross-regional migration has become a defining reality for many Chinese families, reshaping their structures and relationships. This mobility has consequently fueled ongoing discussions about home-making in transitory spaces. This study examines how domestic workers navigate home-making within dual home spaces, employing in-depth interviews and participant observation to capture the intricate and complex realities they face daily. Findings reveal that both the employer's home and the rural home encompass distinct but interconnected material and emotional dimensions of home-making. The differences in domestic workers' roles, responsibilities, and obligations across these spaces lead to varied home-making strategies that encompass not only material management but also relational adjustment, emotional maintenance, and identity negotiation. By presenting vivid cases, this study highlights the lived emotional experiences of this migrant group and critically examines the evolving significance of family bonds, identity, and emotional work within the unique context of social transformation and migration in China.

查看原文本刊更多论文

近家与远家：家政工人的居家实践与日常生活中的关系调整

跨地区移民已经成为许多中国家庭的现实，重塑了他们的家庭结构和家庭关系。因此，这种流动性引发了关于在临时空间中建造家园的持续讨论。本研究探讨了家庭佣工如何在双重家庭空间中进行家庭制作，采用深度访谈和参与性观察来捕捉他们每天面临的错综复杂的现实。研究结果表明，雇主的家和农村的家都包含了不同的，但相互关联的物质和情感层面的家庭。在这些空间中，家政工人的角色、责任和义务的差异导致了不同的家政策略，不仅包括物质管理，还包括关系调整、情感维护和身份协商。通过展示生动的案例，本研究突出了这一流动群体的生活情感经历，并批判性地审视了在中国社会转型和移民的独特背景下，家庭纽带、身份和情感工作的演变意义。

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来源期刊

Emotion Space and Society Multiple-

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

11.10%

发文量

审稿时长

45 days

期刊介绍： Emotion, Space and Society aims to provide a forum for interdisciplinary debate on theoretically informed research on the emotional intersections between people and places. These aims are broadly conceived to encourage investigations of feelings and affect in various spatial and social contexts, environments and landscapes. Questions of emotion are relevant to several different disciplines, and the editors welcome submissions from across the full spectrum of the humanities and social sciences. The journal editorial and presentational structure and style will demonstrate the richness generated by an interdisciplinary engagement with emotions and affects.