Gender, Migration, and Agency: Marriage Migration to Emerging Destinations

In an era of rising global marriage migration, critical explorations of the possible interplays between gender, migration, and agency in emerging migrant destinations remain scarce. Feminist scholars have called for more research on marriage migrants' agency for its profound implications on their integration, autonomy, and subjectivity. However, gendered presumptions about "vulnerable" foreign brides from Asia or other emerging economies are still prevalent compared to their "liberated" Western counterparts (Constable, 2012). In observing the motivations, processes, and consequences of marriage migration, what are the possible interplays between gender, migration, and agency? What structural opportunities and constraints exist in emerging migrant destinations that differ from traditional migrant destinations and may affect marriage migrants' agency? How does migration change marriage migrants' agency across the life course?

This regular session invites papers that address relevant research questions and concern both men and women migrants across different age groups. This session considers marriage migration in the forms of internal, cross-border, and transnational migration to non-traditional migrant destinations. Research that explores marriage migrants' agency beyond the private sphere is especially welcome.