Do the Kerala nurses in Germany break the myth of migration as a male-space?
Do the Kerala nurses in Germany break the myth of migration as a male-space?

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, we are interested in the curious case of the Kerala nurses in Germany in the 1960s and '70s and their location in the context of gender-migration interface. These migrants challenge the myth of migration that migration is quintessentially a male-dominated space where women are largely represented as dependents. The moot point of this paper is to explore their cases within the larger context of gendermigration nexus and break this myth. As a women-driven immigrant community, the nurses from Kerala offer a perspectival shift in terms of understanding heteronormative structures within migrant households and outside, including adjustments in gender-roles and gender-based performances. Through this paper we argue that heteronormativity is often replaced by transnational patriarchy, because diaspora formation, similar to nation-building, is a patriarchal process.

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