Volume 188, Issue 2 p. 177-189
ARTICLE

Using intersectionality to explore social inequalities amongst Christian family migrants in China

Quan Gao

Quan Gao

School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

Search for more papers by this author
Peter Hopkins

Corresponding Author

Peter Hopkins

School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Institute of Islam Hadhari, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

Correspondence

Peter Hopkins, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Email: [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 27 October 2021
Citations: 1

Funding information

Newcastle University's Research Excellence Academy

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how an intersectional frame offers new insights into the issue of social inequalities in relation to family migration. We bring research about family migration and intersectionality into conversation with one another by empirically examining the experiences of rural Christian family migrants in Shenzhen, China. We consider how neoliberal labour regimes and the Chinese state's project of building a secular and modernised state operates through an intersectional process of de-familiarisation that turns rural migrants into gendered, class-based, atomised labouring subjects. We argue that a more nuanced analysis of social inequalities in family migration could usefully focus on the intersectional processes within and among migrant families.

Abstract

We bring research about family, migration, and intersectionality into conversation with one another by empirically examining the experiences of rural Christian family migrants in Shenzhen, China.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.