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(Mis)Givings in a Prairie City? Identity and Belonging of Filipina (Im)Migrants in Lethbridge, Alberta

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Canadian Perspectives on Immigration in Small Cities

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Migration ((IPMI,volume 12))

Abstract

Migration is an experience of the self, a personal journey for those who leave their places of origin. The movement from one place to another carries with it material and subjective meanings. Mobility also implies change, transformation or seeming difference in its social interactions with another culture or a different social system. These changes undeniably affect one’s notion of identity and belonging, even misgivings of migration. This chapter uses a feminist approach in examining selected personal case studies of Filipina immigrants in Lethbridge, a small city in southern Alberta. It provides a brief overview of the Lethbridge locale and demographics; the immigration overview from 1906 to 2013; and the positioning of Filipina identities in global and local contexts with four cases of Filipina (im)migrant lives in Lethbridge to demonstrate the intersections of gender roles, labour migration and identity construction. A concluding section deals with the prospect of whether these Filipina immigrants will stay or leave the city, emphasizing the best the city has to offer or not—(mis)givings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

    Glenda Tibe Bonifacio

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  1. Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

    Glenda Tibe Bonifacio

  2. Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Julie L. Drolet

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Bonifacio, G.T. (2017). (Mis)Givings in a Prairie City? Identity and Belonging of Filipina (Im)Migrants in Lethbridge, Alberta. In: Tibe Bonifacio, G., Drolet, J. (eds) Canadian Perspectives on Immigration in Small Cities. International Perspectives on Migration, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40424-0_5

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