Transnational motherhood: Chinese migrant mothers' lived experiences in 21st Century Australia

Transnational migration occurs in the flows of capital and people that are essential in the discourse of economic cooperation and cultural communication caused by factors including globalisation. In this context, many Chinese women independently migrated to Australia for work and/or study, or dependently migrated as tied movers to their husbands. Chinese women are now among the largest group of migrants in the 21st century Australia. However, the understanding of transnational motherhood through studying Chinese women's maternal experiences in this context is silent in existing literature.

To investigate Chinese women's lived experiences of being a mother in a culturally and linguistically diverse society, the concepts of migration, identity, identification, transnationalism, and community and a qualitative case study approach were used in this study. A purposive sampling technique and snowball sampling technique were used to recruit seventeen self -identified Chinese women in one regional town and three metropolitan cities in Australia. Semi - structured interviews and literature were used for the main data sources.

Three themes emerged from bilingual and recursive thematic analysis: (1) Migrating to Australia: becoming, that illuminated the profile of these Chinese mothers, factors influencing their movements and experiences after migration; (2) Symbols of `Chineseness': belonging, that described the language of Chineseness, images of Chineseness, and cognition of Chineseness; and (3) Not rong ru completely: adjusting, that demonstrated the approaches through which these Chinese mothers strove to integrate into Australian society and the outcome of these attempts. It is not assimilate completely but adjusting to some degree.

Through constant comparison among these themes, it was found that zhong xi he bi is these Chinese women's lived experiences of being a mother in 21st century Australia. This metaphorical concept depicts the phenomenon of transnational motherhood.

These findings have both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, investigating the phenomenon of transnational motherhood by using concepts of migration, identification, and community provides a new insight into this trans-disciplinary field. Practically, this study is of significance to the participants themselves and other people who wish to know about the cultural beliefs and practices of Chinese women in their childrearing. Particularly, it is of critical significance for clinicians who work with Chinese women in Australia and other countries, educators in early childhood, school, adult and community education sectors, policy makers, and the organisers of educational and medical intervention programs worldwide.