The role of Mother–Daughter relationships in shaping femininity among Indian immigrant women

Abstract

Indian immigrant women navigate gender at the intersections of multiple cultures and through people in their family and community, especially mothers. Despite growing research about South Asian immigrant communities in the US, there remains a significant gap in the literature regarding the role mother–daughter relationships play in coshaping Indian immigrant women's ideas about femininity. Using narratives of nine mother–daughter dyads, this paper examines the intergenerational processes through which Indian immigrant mothers and daughters shape each other's understanding and performances of femininity. Participants’ dyadic narratives were analyzed using thematic narrative analysis. Two overarching themes were identified to illustrate the processes of interest: (a) mutual empowered consciousness and (b) the carrying on of cultural values and traditions. This intergenerational investigation of femininity documents the bidirectional and positive role of mother–daughter relationships in the continuous negotiation of feminine identity among Indian immigrant women in the US. This study's findings carry implications that can inform psychotherapy and relationship-building activities among Indian diaspora families.

Keywords

dyads femininity immigrant women intergenerational mother–daughter South Asian

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ackerly

True

(2010). Back to the future: Feminist theory, activism, and doing feminist research in an age of globalization. Women’s Studies International Forum, 33(5), 464–472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2010.06.004

Adames

H. Y.

Chavez-Dueñas

N. Y.

Sharma

Roche

M. J.

(2018). Intersectionality in psychotherapy: The experiences of an AfroLatinx queer immigrant. Psychotherapy, 55(1), 73–79. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000152

Adams

(2012). Context in person, person in context. In Deaux

Snyder

(Eds.), The Oxford handbook of personality and social psychology (pp. 182–208). Oxford University Press.

Adams

Estrada-Villalta

Ordóñez

L. H. G.

(2018). The modernity/coloniality of being: Hegemonic psychology as intercultural relations. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 62, 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.06.006

Adams

Estrada-Villalta

Sullivan

Markus

H. R.

(2019). The psychology of neoliberalism and the neoliberalism of psychology. Journal of Social Issues, 75(1), 189–216. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12305

Badrinath

Seto

(2024). Exploring factors influencing South Asian immigrant family dynamics in the USA. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 46(1), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-023-09541-0

Badruddoja

(2016). Home as a mobile cultural diaspora: South Asian American women and the conceptualization of holidays in America. In C. Khoo-Latimore & P. Mura (Eds.), Asian genders in tourism (pp. 88–103). De Gruyter Brill.

Bhatia

(2018). Social psychology and social justice: Citizenship and migrant identity in the post 9/11 era. In Hammack

(Ed.), The Oxford handbook of social psychology and social justice (pp. 1–35). Oxford University Press.

Bhatia

(2020). Decolonizing psychology: Power, citizenship and identity. Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, 15(3), 257–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/24720038.2020.1772266

10.

Bhatia

Ram

(2004). Culture, hybridity, and the dialogical self: Cases from the South Asian diaspora. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 11(3), 224–240. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327884mca1103_4

11.

Bos

A. L.

Greenlee

J. S.

Holman

M. R.

Oxley

Z. M.

Lay

J. C.

(2022). This one’s for the boys: How gendered political socialization limits girls’ political ambition and interest. American Political Science Review, 116(2), 484–501. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421001027

12.

Charmaz

(2014). Constructing grounded theory. Sage Publications.

13.

Chaudhary

(2024a). A tale of two generations: Indian and Pakistani immigrant women’s negotiation of femininity. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 15(4), 308–318. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000346

14.

Chaudhary

(2024b). Examining meaning-making and decolonial resistance in Pakistani women’s stories of navigating coloniality and gender. Feminism & Psychology, 34(2), 207–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535241233845

15.

Chaudhary

Lam

(2025). Beyond the silhouette: Meanings and manifestations of femininity among Indian and Pakistani immigrant women in the United States. Qualitative Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000337

16.

Chaudhry

Chen

S. H.

(2019). Mental illness stigmas in South Asian Americans: A cross-cultural investigation. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 10(2), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000141

17.

Christens

B. D.

(2012). Toward relational empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 50(1), 114–128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9483-5

18.

Chung

Zhou

Kho

Main

(2021). Parent–child conflict profiles in Chinese American immigrant families: Links to sociocultural factors and school-age children’s psychological adjustment. Family Process, 60(1), 169–185. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12546

19.

Collaço

Wagland

Alexis

Gavin

Glaser

Watson

E. K.

(2021). Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative dyadic data in health research. Qualitative Health Research, 31(8), 1555–1564. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211011599

20.

Dasgupta

S. D.

(1998). Gender roles and cultural continuity in the Asian Indian immigrant community in the U.S. Sex Roles, 38(11–12), 953–974. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018822525427

21.

Dowling

(2006). Approaches to reflexivity in qualitative research. Nurse Researcher, 13(3), 17–21. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2006.04.13.3.7.c5975

22.

Endendijk

J. J.

Groeneveld

M. G.

Bakermans-Kranenburg

M. J.

Mesman

(2016). Gender-differentiated parenting revisited: Meta-analysis reveals very few differences in parental control of boys and girls. PLoS One, 11(7), Article e0159193. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159193

23.

Espín

O. M.

(1999). Women crossing boundaries: A psychology of immigration and transformations of sexuality. Routledge.

24.

Estrada-Villalta

Adams

(2018). Decolonizing development: A decolonial approach to the psychology of economic inequality. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 4(2), 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000157

25.

Farver

J. M.

Bhadha

B. R.

Narang

Lieber

(2007). Ethnic identity, acculturation, parenting beliefs, and adolescent adjustment: A comparison of Asian Indian and European American families. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 53(2), 184–215. https://doi.org/10.1353/mpq.2007.0010

26.

Fausto-Sterling

(2019). Gender/sex, sexual orientation, and identity are in the body: How did they get there? Journal of Sex Research, 56(4–5), 529–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1581883

27.

Foner

Dreby

(2011). Relations between the generations in immigrant families. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 545–564. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-081309-150030

28.

Geerlings

Verkuyten

Thijs

(2015). Changes in ethnic self-identification and heritage language preference in adolescence: A cross-lagged panel study. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 34(5), 501–520. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X14564467

29.

Gergen

(2011). Narrative tensions: Perilous and productive. Narrative Inquiry, 21(2), 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.21.2.17ge

30.

Gonick

(2012). Between femininities: Ambivalence, identity, and the education of girls. State University of New York Press.

31.

Grewal

Kaplan

(1994). Scattered hegemonies: Postmodernity and transnational feminist practices. University of Minnesota Press.

32.

Hammack

P. L.

(2008). Narrative and the cultural psychology of identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12(3), 222–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868308316892

33.

Harris

K. M.

Chen

(2023). The acculturation gap of parent–child relationships in immigrant families: A national study. Family Relations, 72(4), 1748–1772. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12760

34.

Henderson-King

Stewart

A. J.

(1997). Feminist consciousness: Perspectives on women’s experience. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(4), 415–426. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297234007

35.

Inman

A. G.

Tummala-Narra

Kaduvettoor-Davidson

Alvarez

A. N.

Yeh

C. J.

(2015). Perceptions of race-based discrimination among first-generation Asian Indians in the United States. The Counseling Psychologist, 43(2), 217–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014566992

36.

Jaji

(2015). Normative, agitated, and rebellious femininities among East and Central African refugee women. Gender, Place & Culture, 22(4), 494–509. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2014.885886

37.

Kallivayalil

(2004). Gender and cultural socialization in Indian immigrant families in the United States. Feminism & Psychology, 14(4), 535–559. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353504046871

38.

Kalmijn

(2019). Contact and conflict between adult children and their parents in immigrant families: Is integration problematic for family relationships? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(9), 1419–1438. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1522245

39.

Kang

Lazarevic

(2013). Exploring adolescent–parent relationships in Asian American immigrant families: An ecological perspective. Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts, 3(2), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.5723/csdc.2013.3.2.105

40.

Killian

Johnson

(2006). “I’m not an immigrant!”: Resistance, redefinition, and the role of resources in identity work. Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(1), 60–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/019027250606900105

41.

Kretschmer

(2018). Explaining differences in gender role attitudes among migrant and native adolescents in Germany: Intergenerational transmission, religiosity, and integration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(13), 2197–2218. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1388159

42.

Lawrence-Jacobson

Kaplan

(2011). The applicability of empowerment theory to intergenerational programming. Japan Journal of Intergenerational Studies, 1(1), 7–17. https://www.gu.org/app/uploads/2021/03/Lawrence-JacobsonKaplan-Empowerment-Paper-for-Japan-Journal-of-IG-Studies.pdf

43.

Lugones

(2010). Toward a decolonial feminism. Hypatia, 25(4), 742–759. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2010.01137.x

44.

Magnusson

Marecek

(2017). Feminisms, psychologies, and the study of social life. In Gough

(Ed.), The Palgrave handbook of critical social psychology (pp. 17–35). Palgrave Macmillan.

45.

Maira

(2012). Desis in the house: Indian American youth culture in NYC. Temple University Press.

46.

Maiter

George

(2003). Understanding context and culture in the parenting approaches of immigrant South Asian mothers. Affilia, 18(4), 411–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109903257589

47.

Mann

S. K.

Roberts

L. R.

Montgomery

(2017). Conflicting cultural values, gender role attitudes, and acculturation: Exploring the context of reproductive and mental health of Asian-Indian immigrant women in the US. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 38(4), 301–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2017.1283376

48.

Manohar

N. N.

(2019). Gendered agency in skilled migration: The case of Indian women in the United States. Gender & Society, 33(6), 935–960. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243219865544

49.

Mansoor

Abid

(2020). Negotiating femininity, motherhood and beauty: Experiences of Pakistani women breast cancer patients. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 26(4), 485–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2020.1859076

50.

Mazuru

Nyambi

(2012). Celebrating Africana motherhood: The Shona proverb and the familial and social roles of mothers as first teachers, cultural bearers and co-partners. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 2(5), 596–601. https://archive.aessweb.com/index.php/5007/article/view/2241

51.

Mehrotra

G. R.

(2016). South Asian women and marriage: Experiences of a cultural script. Gender Issues, 33, 350–371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9172-7

52.

Mehrotra

Calasanti

T. M.

(2010). The family as a site for gendered ethnic identity work among Asian Indian immigrants. Journal of Family Issues, 31(6), 778–807. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X09357557

53.

Mishra

(2015). Portrayal of women in media. Journal of Higher Education and Research Society, 3(2), 122–128.

54.

Mohanty

C. T.

(2003). “Under Western Eyes” revisited: Feminist solidarity through anticapitalist struggles. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 28(2), 499–535. https://doi.org/10.1086/342914

55.

Morrow

S. L.

(2005). Quality and trustworthiness in qualitative research in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 250–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.250

56.

Murray

(2003). Narrative psychology and narrative analysis. In Camic

P. M.

Rhodes

J.E.

Yardley

(Eds.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 95–112). American Psychological Association.

57.

Nagoshi

J. L.

Brzuzy

Terrell

H. K.

(2012). Deconstructing the complex perceptions of gender roles, gender identity, and sexual orientation among transgender individuals. Feminism & Psychology, 22(4), 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353512461929

58.

Nooraddini

(2021). Intergenerational transmission of gendered attitudes among second-generation adolescents: The role culture plays in modifying the transmission of gender ideology from immigrant mothers to their children. In Demos

Segal

M. T.

(Eds.), Advances in gender research: Vol. 30. Gender and generations: Continuity and change (pp. 53–72). Emerald Publishing.

59.

Perales

Hoffmann

King

Vidal

Baxter

(2021). Mothers, fathers and the intergenerational transmission of gender ideology. Social Science Research, 99, Article 102597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102597

60.

Purkayastha

(2010). Interrogating intersectionality: Contemporary globalisation and racialised gendering in the lives of highly educated South Asian Americans and their children. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 31(1), 29–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256860903477696

61.

Puwar

(2004). Space invaders: Race, gender and bodies out of place. Berg.

62.

Quan

Costigan

C. L.

Kobayashi

K. M.

(2022). Ethnic and national identity development processes: The role of cultural behaviors and gender. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000475

63.

Rai

(2017). Women’s participation in electoral politics in India: Silent feminisation. South Asia Research, 37(1), 58–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0262728016675529

64.

Ramchurn

M. R. V.

(2018). The role of Hindu women in preserving intangible cultural heritage in Mauritius. Journal of Foreign Languages, 6(2), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.15640/jflcc

65.

Riessman

C. K.

(2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Sage Publications.

66.

Sandhu

(2022). When sarees speak: Saree pacts and social media narratives. Feminist Theory, 23(3), 386–406. https://doi.org/10.1177/14647001221085910

67.

Sangha

J. K.

Gonsalves

(2014). Contextualizing South Asian motherhood. In O’Reilly

(Ed.), Mothers, mothering and motherhood across cultural differences – A reader (pp. 413–427). Demeter Press.

68.

Satyen

(2021). Gender norms in the Indian migrant community in Australia: Family, community, and work roles. Journal of Gender Studies, 30(4), 452–464. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1884535

69.

Savaş

Ö.

Duncan

L. E.

Smith

H. M.

Stewart

A. J.

(2024). The baggage and the benefits that travel with the F word: Transnational feminism and its discontents. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 24(3), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12404

70.

Shenhav

Campos

Goldberg

W. A.

(2017). Dating out is intercultural: Experience and perceived parent disapproval by ethnicity and immigrant generation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 34(3), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407516640387

71.

Soehl

(2017). Social reproduction of religiosity in the immigrant context: The role of family transmission and family formation—evidence from France. International Migration Review, 51(4), 999–1030. https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12289

72.

Tummala-Narra

(2013). Psychotherapy with South Asian women: Dilemmas of the immigrant and first generations. Women & Therapy, 36(3–4), 176–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/02703149.2013.797853

73.

Tummala-Narra

Inman

A. G.

Kaduvettoor Davidson

Yeh

C. J.

(2024). Racial socialization experiences among 1.5 and 2nd generation Indian Americans. The Counseling Psychologist, 52(3), 410–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000241226643

74.

Verma

(2020). Collectivism in the cultural perspective: The Indian scene. In J. G. Adair, K. L. Dion, & J.-C. Lasry (Eds.), Latest contributions to cross-cultural psychology (pp. 228–241). Routledge.

75.

Western

K. A.

Cruwys

Ryan

M. K.

(2022). What does it mean to be a woman? How the content of gender identity may facilitate women’s coping with sexual harassment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(23–24), NP22921–NP22943. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211073095

76.

Yeung

W. J. J.

Desai

Jones

G. W.

(2018). Families in Southeast and South Asia. Annual Review of Sociology, 44(1), 469–495. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-073117-041124

77.

Yim

E. P. Y.

(2022). Effects of Asian cultural values on parenting style and young children’s perceived competence: A cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 905093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.905093

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.02 MB

0.00 MB