11

Click here to load reader

Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

CHAPTER 3

Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth:Identity in a Globalized World

Kara Somerville

INTRODUCTION

The world in which migrants live has changeddramatically. At the same time that globalizationhas facilitated the dispersion of families aroundthe world, communication has become cheaperand more accessible. Long-distance phone calls,international airfare, internet, and cell phoneshave facilitated migrant ties to the homeland. Inrecent years, studies on transnationalism haveemerged to describe the ties and relationshipsthat span across sending and receiving societies(for example, Glick-Schiller et al., 1992; Levitt, 2001;Portes, 1997; Vertovec, 2001a). Since migrantsare shaped by complex relationships that areforged within and across more than one country,their lives cannot be understood strictly withinthe borders of the receiving society. The lives oftheir children however, are less directly tied to ahomeland, which raises questions about thetransnational involvement of second generationyouth. Empirical studies leave researchersdivided in their conclusions about the trans-national trends of the second-generation. Somepredict that transnationalism may be importantfor the first generation, but not for their children(Kasinitz et al., 2002; Portes, 2001; Rumbaut, 2002).Others argue that the second generation maintainsome knowledge of their parents’ native languageand do some traveling back and forth to theirparents’ country of origin, so ties may continue;but the magnitude and frequency is unclear(Basch et al., 2000; Levitt and Glick-Schiller, 2004;Purkayastha, 2005; Wolf, 1997).

Based on a sample of eighteen secondgeneration migrants from Karnataka, India,findings from this article engage in this debateby discerning the importance of transnationalconnections among the children of migrants inCanada. International migration at a time ofglobalization has altered the experiences of youthin Canada. Despite their Canadian citizenshipand sense of inclusion within Canadian societyIndo-Canadian youth feel a connection to Indiaand are sustaining transnational networks.Migrant youth who were born in India and

migrated to Canada as young children, as well asthose who were born in Canada to immigrantparents, have a link to their parents’ homelandthat is more than just symbolic. It is real in thesense that these individuals maintain commu-nication across national borders, and they identifywith their parents’ homeland and express thisidentification in their daily lives. Secondgeneration migrants from India are embeddedwithin a social field created by cross-borderconnections between Canada and India, and theiridentity is constructed through a series of materialand symbolic flows across the borders of thesecountries. Second generation Indo-Canadiansare engaged in frequent phone calls, email corres-pondence and annual visits to India, and thistransnational communication activates thetransnational social field and shapes their identi-fication processes.

Instead of focusing on identity outcomes, thisarticle emphasizes identity processes. Thefindings explain the ways the second generationare transnationally “doing ethnicity” and lessabout the actual ethnicities that they do. Identitylabels such as Canadian, South-Asian, orKannadiga, are given less emphasis than theprocesses through which the second generationconstructs a sense of self. Subsequently thefocus is on the process of identity constructionwithin a transnational social field.

The significance of the transnational socialfield in the construction of their identities isdemonstrated at three levels: 1) at the level ofemotions: they feel Indian, yet also Canadian; 2)at the level of appearance: they express theirtransnational belonging through fashion stylesand clothing; and 3) at the level of allegiance:they feel a sense of loyalty to India at the sametime that they feel a sense of loyalty to Canada.This article outlines how each of the three levelsof identity expression is being used by secondgeneration migrants in the process of identityformation. The implication is that the secondgeneration negotiates identities within a socialspace that includes flows from their parents’country of origin and country of settlement.

Page 2: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

24 KARA SOMERVILLE

LITERATURE REVIEW

Transnationalism:A One Generation Phenomenon?

Generational research on transnationalism isstill in its infancy and as a result there are many,essentially unexplored, possibilities. Empiricalstudies leave researchers divided in their con-clusions about the transnational trends of thesecond-generation. On one side of the debateare scholars who predict that transnationalismmay be important for the first generation, but notfor their children. Portes (2001: 190) argues thattransnational activities are a “one-generationphenomenon”, but that the involvement of theimmigrant generation can have resilient effectson the second generation. Rumbaut (2002: 89)finds overall, that despite variability amongdifferent national-origin groups, the level oftransnational attachments among the secondgeneration is quite small. Similarly, Kasinitz et al.(2002: 119) find low levels of second-generationtransnationalism among individuals in New YorkCity, however they emphasize that in each ethnicgroup there is a minority for whom transnationalties continue to play a “regular, sustained, integralrole in their lives”, and therefore research mustcontinue to search for answers to questions oftransnationality.

In contrast, other scholars argue that thesecond generation maintain some knowledge oftheir parents’ native language and do sometraveling back and forth to their parents’ countryof origin, so ties may continue, but the magnitudeand frequency is unclear. Smith (2002) finds thatrather than low or diminishing levels of trans-nationalism among the second generation, thereis actually a cultivation of these practices as theyattempt to redefine their identities and sociallocations; and Basch et al. (2000) argue that it is“likely” that transnational relations will continueamong the second generation. Research has alsocommented on the ways transnational engage-ment among the second generation may ebb andflow according to life-cycle stages (Somerville,2007) or in response to particular incidents orcrises (Levitt and Glick-Schiller, 2004). Levitt andWaters (2002) point out that transnationalpractices amongst the second generation mightbe sporadic or selective, but they “add up”, soresearch needs to examine if they are cumulativelysignificant.

Levitt and Glick-Schiller (2004) point out thatwe need to consider the extent to which the newsecond generation is reared in a transnationalsocial field, which refers to sets of multipleinterconnected networks of social relationshipsthrough which ideas, practices, and resources areexchanged, and transformed (Basch et al., 2000;Levitt and Glick-Schiller, 2004). Levitt and Glick-Schiller (2004) suggest that we can do this bydifferentiating between ‘ways of being’ and‘ways of belonging’ in a transnational space.‘Ways of being’ refer to the actual social relationsand practices in which individuals engage,whereas ‘ways of belonging’ refer to a connectionto a homeland through memory, nostalgia orimagination. Similarly, Wolf (1997) argues thatFilipino second generation youth are engaged inwhat she calls “transnational struggles” at theemotional level. She found that the children ofimmigrants maintain ties to their parents’ homelandand their own homeland. She concludes thatimmigrant parents are more actively engaged inmaintaining relationships with the Philippinesthan their children, but their children aremaintaining ties “at the level of emotions,ideologies and conflicting cultural codes” (Wolf,1997: 458).

Research on second-generation trans-nationalism is gaining prominence in the UnitedStates, where scholars such as Fouron and Glick-Schiller (2002), Haller and Landolt (2005), Levittand Waters (2002) Portes (2001), and Rumbaut(2002, 2003), are making substantial progress inour understanding of this phenomenon. Unlikethe small, but growing, interest in studyingsecond generation transnationalism in the U.S.,existing research in Canada still mainly exploressecond-generation Canadian immigrants’ adap-tation in terms of psychological adjustment,educational and occupational achievement,emotional and behavioural adjustment, earnings,poverty levels, and health status (Boyd, 2002;Reitz and Somerville, 2004). There is an identifiablegap in research with few empirical studies onCanadian second-generation transmigrants.

Nevertheless, there is an impressive array ofinformation about the new second generation.Researchers interested in the children of migrantsare asking some key questions: the kinds ofattachments the children of immigrants maintainwith their parents’ homeland; the role of languageretention or loss in the transnational engagementof the second generation; how changes in the

Page 3: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

25TRANSNATIONAL BELONGING AND IDENTITY

host-society economy influence the transnationaltrends of the second generation; how the attach-ments and incorporation patterns of the firstgeneration influence their children; how changesin the racial and ethnic profile, as well as multi-culturalism, in the host society affect the secondgeneration and their ties to a parental homeland;and what resources the second generation canmuster to confront segmented labour markets,racism, marginalization, and other obstacles in thehost countries (for a review of research see Hallerand Landolt, 2005; and Levitt and Waters, 2002).In light of existing research and the work thatremains to be done on the children of immigrants,this article addresses the extent to which thesecond generation expresses transnationalconnections in their self-identification.

Second Generation Identity

Findings on identity formation among mem-bers of the visible minority second generationare limited because the new second generation inCanada is still quite young (see Reitz andSomerville, 2004). It is generally assumed that asimmigrants are incorporated into the mainstreampopulation, ethnic identities become less salient,yet little research has explored whether this is trueamong second generation racial minority migrantswho have, for all intensive purposes, incorporatedinto Canadian society. Research has documentedhow identities are constructed through acombination of processes based on external labels,social constructions, and ethnic options (Waters,1990; 1999), and that many of the conditions usedto specify these labels and constructions arespecific to the social worlds in which migrants areembedded (Vertovec, 2001b). However, we have alimited understanding of how transnational socialworlds impact upon this process.

Immigrants are no longer limited to thestructural conditions in the host country but arein fact building their lives by moving back andforth between one or more countries of originand settlement (Glick Schiller et al., 1992; Levitt,2001; Portes, 1997). However, the extent to whichtheir children are building their identities betweenone or more countries is less well known. Severalrecent works have explored the ways that secondgeneration migrants self-identify with regard tonational, racial and ethnic identities. Scholarshave described how migrant groups assert theirtransnational connection and identification to

avoid negative racialized identities (Fernandez-Kelly and Schauffler, 1996; Foner, 2001; Levitt,2001) and to compensate for their lack of inclusionin the mainstream. According to Portes (1999:470), based on his research in the United States,a survey of over 5,000 second-generation youthsfound that, by age fourteen, the majority identifiedthemselves as hyphenated Americans1, plainAmericans2 or members of the pan-ethnicidentities3 defined by mainstream Americanculture.

In a study of second generation South Asiansin the US, Purkayastha (2005: 59) found that thechildren of affluent South Asian migrants choosebicultural identities by forging their lives throughencounters in India and America. She furtherargues that the intersection of global and localforces lead South Asian Americans to select ahyphenated identity label; use transnational familynetworks to help mitigate structural constraints;negotiate ethnic boundaries through trans-national networks; and develop a transnationalform of racialized identities. Her work is pertinentto identity studies and makes an importantcontribution to our understanding of the waysthe second generation “traverse a transnationalworld” (Purkayastha, 2005).

This article builds off Purkayastha’s analysisby studying one South Asian group in moredetail: South Indians from Karnataka. All of theabove studies, except for Purkayastha (2005),focus on second-generation identity outcomes,without paying much attention to the processthrough which various identities are constructed.Studies suggest second generations adopttransnational identities (Fernandez-Kelly andSchauffler, 1996; Foner, 2001), hyphenatedidentities (Portes, 1999), pan–ethnic identities(Portes, 1999), or hyphenated bicultural identities(Purkayastha, 2005). In this article, I focus onprocesses, not outcomes. The emphasis is on howidentities are constructed and expressed bysecond generation Indo-Canadians. In otherwords, the current findings relate to the ways thesecond generation are ‘doing ethnicity’, and lessabout the actual ethnicity that they do4.

METHODOLOGY

This study utilizes in-depth, face-to-faceinterviews with eighteen second-generation5

Indo-Canadian youth between the ages of twelveand twenty-five; the average age of participants

Page 4: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

26 KARA SOMERVILLE

is twenty-two years. All participants were livingin the Greater Toronto Area6 at the time of theinterview, and are Canadian citizens. Eligibleparticipants included anyone whose parents wereborn in Karnataka, India and migrated to Canadaeither before the participant (their child) was bornor when the participant was pre-school aged.Thus, the sample encompasses individuals whoare second-generation migrants from Karnataka,South India. Firstly, this group was chosenbecause of their relatively high socio-economicstatus in both India and Canada. The parents ofthese individuals are migrating from the city ofBangalore, which is a thriving IT capital in India.By selecting a group with a relatively high socio-economic status, it lessens the likelihood that thesecond generation is maintaining transnationallinkages out of economic necessity, or a sense offinancial obligation to kin in India. The researchdoes not attempt to measure transnational ties asa survival strategy to disperse resources globally,but instead explores the extent to whichtransnational practices are a voluntary activityamong second-generation youth.

Secondly, migrants from Karnataka wereselected because at the time of writing the Hindureligion accounted for 84 percent of thepopulation in Karnataka. Levitt (2003, 2004) haspointed out how religion exercises significantinfluence over the ways in which migrants areincorporated into host societies and stay attachedto their homelands. Therefore selecting a statewith a significant majority religion, simplifies thesample. All participants identified their religionas Hindu. Participants were recruited through avariety of methods, including ads in newspapers,signs in Toronto neighbourhoods and Univer-sities, announcements made at cultural andreligious associations, and snowball sampling.The participants all speak English in addition toone or more Indian languages. The most commonlanguages spoken by participants are Kannadaand Hindi. There is a relatively equal genderdistribution with eight males and ten females.Interviews lasted an average of two hours, andwere all conducted in English by the author. Datacollection took place between January and April2005.

FINDINGS: CONCEPTUALIZING INDIANIDENTITY IN CANADA

Understanding that transnational networks

are important in the construction of identitynecessitates attention to the communicationsoccurring across borders. Second generationmigrants keep in touch transnationally; they travelas visitors, phone friends and relatives, anddiscuss their daily lives through communicationin Canada and India. These flows are multi-directional in the sense that the people,information, and ideas that flow through themare initiated and received in each of the sendingand receiving societies. It is through thesepersonal, cross-border networks that the secondgeneration is able to mobilize the resources whichallow them to express feelings of multipleattachments and multi-belonging. Seventy-twopercent of the participants make yearly visits toIndia, ninety-four percent phone India on aweekly basis, and ninety-four percent email familyand friends in India on a weekly basis. Thesesecond-generation migrants are therefore activelyengaged in cross-border communications whichkeep them connected to people in their parents’country of origin. It is within the social environ-ment created by these cross-border connectionsthat the second generation goes throughprocesses of identity formation, which theyexpress through emotions, appearances andallegiances.

These second-generation migrants exper-ience shifting identities that are actualized throughtheir transnational relations with friends andfamily members in two countries. Due to theirconnections to both India and Canada, theseyouth share unique experiences as the childrenof immigrants in Canada. Their identities cannotbe specified based on existing identity categories,such as Indian, South Asian or Canadian, amongothers, so they feel an increased need to managetheir identities and the processes through whichthey express these identities. As a result ofongoing cross-border communications, thesecond generation comes to realize they aredifferent from their parents: they have not had animmigration journey; are different from native-born whites in Canada: they are non-white; anddifferent from other racial minority Canadians:they have meaningful connections to a homeland.The features that make these youth unique alsofacilitate their transnational communication - theyembed themselves in networks of personalrelationships that span two countries. Thesecommunications influence the ways the secondgeneration identifies their sense of self. By using

Page 5: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

27TRANSNATIONAL BELONGING AND IDENTITY

social networks in both Canada and India asbenchmarks, against which to define their levelof belonging, the second generation is growingup in a transnational social field.

Transnational Identity Formation ExpressedThrough Emotions

One way in which second generation Indo-Canadians describe their emotional connectionto India and to Canada is by describingthemselves as being a blend of different ethnicand national identities. A Canadian born male,with two foreign-born parents describes himselfin the following way. “I don’t want to typecastmyself as one, so I’d say I’m a mix of Indian andCanadian. East Indian sorry. Or actually SouthIndian. I would not say East Indian, I’d say SouthIndian. I guess it kind of depends where I amand who I’m with”. Through this “mix” ofidentities, he is demonstrating the fluidity ofnational and regional boundaries, and hisreluctance to select one identity marker. Aseventeen-year old male, who immigrated toCanada as a child, also describes the fusion ofidentities. “As of right now I consider myself anIndo-Canadian because I am a mixture ofeverything; but when I’m with other Indians Ifeel more Indian, unless I’m in India then I feelmore Canadian because I am different”.Interestingly, he points out that this is how hefeels “right now”, which acknowledges thatidentities shift, and he may identify differently inone week, one month or one year from now. Twoof the factors that influence these shifts are thechanging social contexts and social networks.Both of these hinge on the national borders withinwhich the participant and the social contacts arelocated.

For example, a second generation female whowas born in Canada and is currently in hertwenties, identifies at various times as Indian,South Indian, East Indian, Kannadiga, SouthAsian, Indo-Canadian, and Canadian. Shedescribes her experience of having her socialnetwork and social context influence her self-identification.

“Anything that makes me feel moreCanadian is kind of Canadian cultural thingslike there is a surface level culture like hockeyand watching hockey with other Canadiansalways makes me feel more Canadian…But thereare definitely times I feel more Indian; like I guess

if I am in a place that is more, like if I am in atemple I would absolutely feel more Indian. Iguess any place that is culturally Indian, and Iam with other Indians. But there are times I feela blend [of Indian and Canadian], like when Iam at home with my family I feel a blend becauseat the end of the day I am both, and I don’t thinkyou have to be one or the other”

It is this reluctance to choose a single ethnicor nationally based identity that leads thesesecond generation migrants to engage inprocesses of identification which incorporateboth countries of origin and settlement, and whichallow them to express transnational belonging. Asecond generation female who was born andraised in Canada identifies as Indian, SouthIndian, Kannadiga, South Asian, Indo-Canadianand Canadian:

“I am Indian, but I’m not totally like myparents. I’m a mix of the East and the West in theway I think and even the way I dress. So I guessI’m Indo-Canadian because I feel I have rootshere, but the Indian part [of me] is still verylarge. It’s a struggle because my parents are soIndian. But I am definitely more Canadian thanmy cousins in India… People put a lot ofemphasis on the external you know, they judgeyou, and family in India always accused me ofnot being Indian enough”.

This difficulty to self-identify and the sub-sequent rationalizations for chosen identities area way for the second generation to come to termswith transnational belonging. They feel oneidentity, by itself, does not fully capture theessence of who they are or what they believe.The process of defining the self in such a waythat accurately reflects emotional connection andsymbolic belonging is influenced by externalsocial factors; the process of self representationvaries according to individuals and groups in twocountries. Through processes of self-inclusion andexclusion, second generation Indo-Canadians usecross-national social contexts in their self-identification as both Indian and Canadian.

These second generation youth maintainseveral identities that link them simultaneouslyto two countries. They feel emotional attachmentand belonging to their Indian families in Indiaand promote their ties to their parents’ country oforigin as a way to express these connections.Simultaneously, these second generation youthfeel an emotional connection to Canada andpromote their belonging within Canada. These

Page 6: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

28 KARA SOMERVILLE

transnational connections represent an effort toarticulate a social identity that is forged betweenthe borders of Canada and India, and whichexpress inclusion within both simultaneously. Indeciphering their individual and collectivebelonging, these second-generation migrants siftthrough and merge multiple affiliations andemotional attachments to people, places andtraditions in two countries. The followingsections further demonstrate this transnationalbelonging by exploring how these emotions ofmulti-inclusion are expressed through fashion andallegiances.

Transnational Identity Formation ExpressedThrough Fashion and Clothing

Selecting of ethnic clothes is an important wayin which second generation Indo-Canadiansexpress their transnational belonging. Dress is anethnic symbol that distinguishes one group fromanother. This form of ethnic expression is used bythe second generation in this study. The childrenof migrants create their own fashion styles thatreflect their connection to their parents’ birthplace,and their own country of citizenship. In this way,fashion serves as a cultural tool for building bridgesacross national boundaries and enables theseyouth to situate themselves between theseboundaries. Among transnational youth, facets ofmultiple cultures and identities are selected,syncretized and modified, so migrants can allowtheir consumption and fashion trends to be anexpression of this multi-belonging.

By creating Indian inspired Western clothing,and Western inspired Indian clothing, second-generation migrants symbolically positionthemselves as Indian but, at the same time, clearlydifferentiate themselves from their Indian parentsby expressing their ‘Canadianness’. Their choicein ethnic fashion is not a strict adherence totradition, which they associate with their parents;rather it is a way to construct an identity thatreflects their Indian heritage and belonging inIndia, yet at the same time represents theirbelonging in Canada. A second-generationwoman, born in Canada to two foreign-bornparents, said she did not know if she formallyexpressed her ethnicity – she “just felt it”,however her clothing preferences serve asexpressions of her transnational belonging. Shewore both Indian and Western clothes, dependingon the event, and who would be in attendance.

More importantly the clothes she chose forvarious occasions were different from the onesher Indian mother or mother in-law would choose,and therefore they reflect her unique position asa second generation migrant with attachments totwo countries.

“When there is an Indian party to go to Iwear the clothes…I do everything I can to beinvolved in like the clothing and stuff when wego out…but I feel it’s hard when I am with Indianswho are very cultured, or if I’m too much on theCanadian side. Like even when I choose anIndian outfit to wear, I will choose somethingthat is kind of a mix [of Canadian and Indian].Like it will be more subtle, like it won’t be asloud and it won’t have all those jewels and beads,like it won’t be tacky it will be more simple. Ithink I just choose a mix more…My cousins andpeople of the same age as me, friends and stuff,they are all on the same level as me – we allgrew up here and all like the same clothes andstuff, even with the traditional Indian clothes,we all kind of have the same tastes”.

Through her less “tacky” clothes, she createsa way to be Indian that is different from herparents, yet also different from native-Canadians.She feels a connection with other second-generation Indians who are in Canada, and whoare using clothes to similarly represent themselveswithin the transnational world in which they areliving.7

Another participant explains how she selectsand modifies symbolic parts of herself throughher use of fashion:

“[My Indian ethnicity’s] embedded in allaspects of my life. I definitely look Indian andsome of my wardrobe, my clothes, reflect that aswell. I definitely have a lot of Indian clothesand I have a lot of so called Western clothes thathave been Indianized. Every time I go to India Iacquire new things or new ideas. So for instanceit’s quite typical in India to wear what is calleda Salwar Kameez, which is a long tunic sort ofthing, so I wear the top, but with jeans on thebottom. And the top has gotten shorter andshorter, it is still longer than a t-shirt, but it isstill Indian looking”

She is using a combination of Indian clothesand Western clothes, and then further alteringthem to express her sense of belonging to bothIndia and Canada. Through her fashion choices,this second-generation woman is revealing howher non-traditional choices maintain an important

Page 7: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

29TRANSNATIONAL BELONGING AND IDENTITY

Indian quality, while at the same time conforming,in some respects, to the Canadian expectation ofcontemporary fashion. These second generationIndo-Canadians are able to feel Indian at certainevents and at certain functions, while simul-taneously maintaining their ‘Canadianness’.While attending events with their non-ethnicCanadian peers these migrants conform toCanadian fashion trends while preserving theirIndian ethnicity, by altering styles to reflect theiridentity border-crossings. Consumer and fashionchoices allow second-generation Indo-Canadiansto negotiate and express the meanings of theirmultilayered identities, and this is facilitatedthrough frequent flows of people, clothing andstyle advice across national borders.

The second generation share conversationsabout fashion with their same-age cousins in India,which help shape their preferences for SouthIndian styles or fabrics. What is important is notthe actual clothing selected or how the clothesare worn but that the second generation usefashion as a way of defining themselves asbelonging to two cultures and two countries.Their clothing serves as a cultural tool that theyacquire transnationally through phone calls andemails about fashion, and during shopping tripsin India and Canada.

The second generation comes to terms withtheir identity through self-expression and byconstructing a fashion that is different from theirparents, but also different from typical styles wornby Kannadigas, Indians, Canadians, and all otherrecognizable identities. These youth activelyconstruct a unique style that captures elementsof each of these cultural identities with whichthey identify. In order to acquire these culturaltools, the second generation needs to remaininformed about changing fashion trends in India.These young people communicate with cousinsin India to ensure they are aware of how Indiansin India are wearing the contemporary Indianstyles. One female participant describes how herfrequent transnational communications providethe mechanisms through which she acquiresinformation about contemporary Indian fashions.“I talk to [my cousin in India] and she tells mewhat they’re wearing and if I think it sounds niceI’ll try to sort of copy it, or adapt it to suit me”.These cross-border communications facilitateparticipation within a transnational social fieldthat keeps the second generation cognizant ofcurrent fashion trends in more than one country.

A female participant describes this process:“I have a cousin who is the same age as me andwhen I go [to India] I’d take clothes to wearand we’d compare and sometimes I’d borrowsome things or go with her to buy them”. Havingfamily in India provides the second generationwith a kind of ethnic fashion specialist that isunavailable to them in Canada. By relying ontheir own notions of Canadian fashion and theirfamilies’ notions of Indian fashion, the secondgeneration is able to construct a transnationalstyle that reflects their social world. Throughthese cross-border fashion talks, the secondgeneration learns the latest styles in India, whichthey can then modify to reflect the modernCanadian styles of their non-ethnic peers,providing self-expression of transnationalbelonging.

This section has demonstrated the variousways that migrants express their transnationalbelonging through clothing. There are variationsin the ways the second generation use clothes tosignify their connection to India and Canada butthe common thread is that despite these variances,second generation Indo-Canadians are usingfashion to express their simultaneous belongingand unbelonging to two countries and twocultures. Through their transnational mixing ofethnic styles, second generation Indo-Canadiansnegotiate the meanings associated with fashions.Fashion serves as a conduit for self-expressionin a way that pays tribute to the transnationalflows in which it is situated.

Transnational Identity Formation ExpressedThrough Multiple Allegiances

Second generation Indo-Canadians feel asense of loyalty to both Canada and India, whichthey express through verbal statements,arguments and politicized discussions. In thisway, the second generation converts theiremotional connection to both Canada and Indiainto a vocal expression of loyalty. Their sense ofconnection to, and belonging in, India is strongand this coexists with their sense of connectionto, and belonging in, Canada. “At times I feelloyal to India because that’s where I’m from. Ihave my roots back there and this is reinforcedevery time I go back there. But at the same timeI’m loyal to Canada because it has been good tome”, said a sixteen year old male. This sense oflineage was strong and being born or raised in

Page 8: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

30 KARA SOMERVILLE

Canada does not obliterate their individual orfamily connection to India. Another participant,who describes himself as Indian, South Indian,and Canadian, explains: “I am loyal to Canadabecause I am Canadian, but I am loyal to Indiabecause it is my background and I am absolutelyproud of my background. Every year I go backand I’m proud to go back”. Connection to,association with, and belonging to, multi-localgroups leads to various allegiances with whichthe second-generation feel confronted.

Being loyal to and proud of both Canada andIndia, leads the second generation to ferventlydefend both countries to critical outsiders. A maleparticipant, who immigrated to Canada as a child,expresses his attempts to defend Canada “I feel Iowe both countries. Whenever I go to India like,my cousins they tease me about Canada, andthey mock me, and I try to defend Canada; andwhen I am in Canada I tell all the good thingsabout India. They are both a part of me and Ifeel the need to defend them”. A Canadian-bornfemale participant describes her repeated attemptsto defend her two countries: “I definitely feelloyal to each [country] in a different way. I haveemailed the CNN many times to complain abouttheir coverage of India, and I’m always teachingmy family in India about what Canada is about”.

Whether amongst their friends in India andCanada or to formal institutions in India andCanada, the second generation voices theirloyalty to both countries in their daily lives. ACanadian born female explains how she expressesdual-loyalty by correcting Canadians’ misper-ceptions of Indians, and vice versa. “I think thatwhen people knock Indian culture or saysomething that I think is not true – like a lot ofpeople have the perception that Indians arevillagers, they come from the villages and theybathe in the river water and, to me I know that isnot true, because I have been there, and I know alot of the poor that may be how they live, but thatis not how everybody lives, so, like I think I try toeducate them in a way, that there is more to India,and Indian people are not all like that, just likein Canada you can’t say all Canadians live onYonge street and are panhandlers. How can yousay that? There’s a few of them yeah, but that’snot all we’re about. It’s the same idea. So I do thesame for Canada when I am in India”. Defendingboth countries is a natural strategy for these youthbecause having to take sides would requirereshuffling their ethnic belonging, and symbolically

choosing one part of themselves over the other.For these children of migrants their deep

sense of loyalty to India and Canada is actedupon in a way that makes emotional attachmentan observable expression. Defending Canadawhile speaking to Indian nationals and defendingIndia while speaking to non-Indian Canadiansbecomes a regular part of their lives as second-generation migrants. They defend both countriesvigorously trying to point out the favorablefeatures of both, simultaneously trying to educateothers about the virtues of each country. In thisway, migrants informally create a political arenain which their allegiance to two countries can bearticulated in such a way as to become anexpression of who they are.

CONCLUSION

Exploring identity construction amongsecond-generation migrants from India illustratesthe importance they place on ties to their parents’homeland in their construction of identity andbelonging in Canada. The second generation stillfeels a personal connection to India, and theyexpress this connection through their identityoptions, their clothing choices and their dualallegiances. The children of migrants are able tostay connected to their parents’ birthplace at thesame time that they build a strong connection totheir own country of citizenship. It is throughfrequent transnational communication andinformation flows that the second generation isable to remain embedded in both India andCanada, and which facilitates their process ofidentity formation within this active transnationalsocial field.

Findings from this paper can be summarizedinto four main conclusions and contributions tocontemporary literature. Firstly, this article hascontributed to the debate over whether trans-national engagement is a first generation pheno-menon. The answer is a resounding no; transna-tionalism is not a one-generation phenomenon.Although the second generation is being raisedin Canada and are incorporated into Canada interms of their education, employment and socialactivities, they are nevertheless growing up in atransnational social field. The second generationis maintaining cross-border communication throu-gh internet, phone calls and visits. Through regu-lar contact with friends and family in India, thesecond-generation are connected physically and

Page 9: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

31TRANSNATIONAL BELONGING AND IDENTITY

emotionally to more than one country. Thesefindings suggest that researchers should be moreaware of the need to trace the transnationalconnec-tions and meanings associated withcross-border ties among not only immigrants, butalso their children.

Secondly, regular and sustained transnationalcommunication activates the transnational socialfield and shapes identity processes. Frequentcross-border communication with family in Indiaprovides the necessary context and contacts withwhich to develop and express identities trans-nationally. A series of informal family networks aredeveloped between second-generation Indo-Canadians and kin in the country of origin, whichact as conduits for identity construction. It isbecause of ongoing emails, phone calls, and otherforms of communication that the secondgeneration has the desire and ability to formulatetransnational sentiments and express these in theirprocesses of identity construction. Without thesecontacts, their identity construction would belimited to the host society context with imaginedlinks to India. Since however, they are part ofestablished transnational networks, they can obtainconsumption products, advice and informationdirectly from both Canada and India. Secondgeneration Indo-Canadians consequently use theirtransnational communications to sift through arepertoire of identity tools, in order to constructan identity that symbolizes their connection to theirfamilies in India and their families in Canada.Through their use of fashion, negotiation ofsymbolic meanings, and emotional connectionsand allegiances, the second genera-tion helps usto understand how transnational flows are deeplyinvolved in their process of self-identification.

Thirdly, identities emerge and are modified,based on cross-border flows. Transnationalcommunication not only facilitates the construc-tion of identities but also their reconstruction.The identity expressions of these second-genera-tion migrants reflect the transnational connectionsthat make them possible; they are fluid andmalleable, taking on new forms depending on thelocation of the migrants and their social networkand the composition of these social networks interms of issues such as nationality, ethnicity, andbackground. Second-generation migrantsdescribe a fluidity of identities, and a myriad ofways in which their identities are expressed as adirect result of shifting ethnic and nationalcontexts. Furthermore, the second-generation

modifies their identities and the ways in whichthey express their belonging through changingfashions, parallel loyalties and a new way ofanswering the question ‘Who am I’? Just asgoods and people come to circulate in new ways,so too identities emerge and are modified basedon cross-border flows.

Finally, throughout this article I have arguedthat instead of simply looking at identity outcomes,research needs to look at the process ofidentification. Existing literature primarily focuseson identity outcomes and neglects to examine, inany sufficient detail, emotional attachments, andthe ways these attachments are expressed. Staticidentity markers do not capture embeddedness intransnational social fields. Instead of focusing onwhether someone identifies as Canadian, Indian,Indo-Canadian or South Asian, research needs tounderstand that the processes of identity construc-tion provide an opportunity to examine the expre-ssion of identities, and the meanings migrantsattach to those identities. By paying attention toprocesses, we see how they take place within atransnational social field. Converting identityconstruction of the second generation into a modelof identity outcomes disempowers second genera-tion migrants. It removes their agency to engagein processes of formulating and expressing fluctua-ting emotional attachments. Fundamentally, thetransnational social world is inherently implicatedin processes of self-identification among theseyouth, and there is a need to better under-standthe processes of formulating and expressingoscillating transnational attachments.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

An earlier version of this paper entitled“Transnational Lives of Indo-Canadian Youth:experiences in a globalized world” was co-presented with Scott Walsworth at the ISA VIIIthInternational Conference on Asian Youth andChildhoods in Lucknow, India, November 22-24,2007. I wish to thank Scott Walsworth, Jeffrey G.Reitz, Bonnie Fox and Patricia Landolt for theirhelpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.I would also like to acknowledge Anand Singhfor his guidance and practical insights inpreparing the manuscript for publication.

NOTES

1 Hyphenated Americans refer to individuals who

Page 10: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

32 KARA SOMERVILLE

consider themselves to be both American and anotherdistinct ethnic identity, such as Haitian-American orVietnamese-American.

2 Plain Americans refer to people who simply identifyas American

3 Pan-ethnic identities refer to a collective identitythat encompasses a number of national-origin groups,such as Asian.

4 Although this article does not focus on identityoutcomes, participants were asked about their identityoutcomes (or labels). Everybody in the sampleidentified with multiple ethnic identity categories.Although the second generation will select a primaryidentity if asked to do so, their narratives reveal howthese labels are incomplete. Focusing on theprocesses involved in constructing these multipleidentities is where the truly sociological queries lay.For simplification of reporting results, this articlerefers to the second-generation participants as Indo-Canadians which is the most frequent self-identification label reported by participants.

5 According to Fouron and Glick-Schiller (2002: 195)a transnational second generation is defined as “allpersons born into the generation after emigrants haveestablished transnational social fields who live withinor are socialized by these fields, regardless of whetherthey were born or are currently living in the countryof emigration or abroad”. I find this definition toouniversal, as does Jones-Correa (2002), and arguethat it downplays the importance of contextualdifferences between individuals in the sending andreceiving societies. I assert that to be consi-dered asecond-generation immigrant, the individual must beborn in Canada and have parents who were born in aforeign country, or individuals who were born in aforeign country but immigrated to Canada at a youngage. This is consistent with many immigrant scholarswho posit that anyone who migrates beforeadolescence can be categorized as second-generation(see Rumbaut (2003) for a discussion of themethodological problems of researching the secondgeneration).

6 The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the largestmetropolitan area in Canada. The GTA has apopulation of over 5.5 million people (2006 CanadianCensus).

7 This sense of connection to other second generationyouth was described by one female as a central partof her identity. “I think something does have to besaid for being, not even breaking it down by the countryyour parents immigrated from, but just even beingpart of a second generation. Like I find I haveconnected in ways to friends who are also secondgeneration but from a different country. Like I’mthink of a friend of mine, and we were always able torelate, like she always called it the parent immigrantexperience and what they learned from that and howthat in turn played out in the way you view things andin the way you are raised”.

REFERENCES

Basch, L., N. Glick Schiller and C. Szanton Blanc. 2000.Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postco-

lonial Predicaments and Deterritorialized Nation-States. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach SciencePublishers.

Boyd, M. 2002, “The Educational Attainment ofImmigrant Offspring: Success or SegmentedAssimilation?” International Migration Review,36(4): 1037-1060.

Fernandez-Kelly, P. and R. Schauffler. 1996. “DividedFates: Immigrant Children and the NewAssimilation”, (pp. 30-53), in A. Portes (ed.), TheNew Second Generation: New York: Russell SageFoundation.

Foner, N. 2001. (Ed.) Islands in the City: West IndianMigration to New York. Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press.

Fouron E, G. and N. Glick Schiller. 2002. “The Generationof Identity: Redefining the Second GenerationWithin a Transnational Social Field”, (pp. 168-208),in P. Levitt and M. Waters (eds.), The ChangingFace of Home: The Transnational Lives of the SecondGeneration: New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Glick Schiller, N., L. Basch and C. Szanton Blanc. 1992.Toward a Transnational Perspective on Migration:Race, Class, Ethnicity and Nationalism Reconsider-ed. New York: Annals of the New York Academy ofSciences.

Jones-Correa, M. 2002. “The Study of TransnationalismAmong the Children of Immigrants: Where We Areand Where We Should Be Headed”, (pp. 221-241),in P. Levitt and M. Waters (eds.), The ChangingFace of Home: The Transnational Lives of the SecondGeneration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Kasinitz, P., M. Waters, J. Mollenkopf and M. Anil.2002. “Transnationalism and the Children ofImmigrants in Contemporary New York”, (pp. 96-122) in P. Levitt and M. Waters (eds.), The ChangingFace of Home: The Transnational Lives of the SecondGeneration: New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Haller, W. and P. Landolt. 2005. “The TransnationalDimensions of Identity Formation: Adult Childrenof Immigrants in Miami.” Ethnic and Racial Studies28: 1182-1214.

Levitt, P. 2004 “Redefining the boundaries of belonging:The institutional character of transnational religiouslife.” Sociology of Religion, 65(1): 1-18.

Levitt, P. 2003. “You know, Abraham was Really theFirst immigrant: Religion and TransnationalMigration.” International Migraion Review, 37(143):847-874.

Levitt, P. 2001. “Transnational migration: taking stockand future directions.” Global Networks: A Journalof Transnational Affairs, 1(3): 195-216.

Levitt, P. and N. Glick Schiller. 2004. “ConceptualizingSimultaneity: A Transnational Social FieldPerspective on Society.” International MigrationReview 38(3): 1002-1039.

Levitt, P. and M. Waters. 2002. The Changing Face ofHome: The Transnational Lives of the SecondGeneration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Portes, A. 2001. “Introduction: the debates andsignificance of immigrant transnationalism.” GlobalNetworks: A Journal of Transnational Affairs, 1(3):181-193.

Portes, A. 1999. “Conclusion: Towards a new world - theorigins and effects of transnational activities.”Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(2): 463-477.

Page 11: Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth ... Volume-Journal/JSS-00-Special... · Transnational Belonging among Second Generation Youth: ... emerged to describe the ties

33TRANSNATIONAL BELONGING AND IDENTITY

Portes, A. 1997. Globalization from Below: The Rise ofTransnational Communities. Transnational Commu-nities Programme, Economic and Social ResearchCouncil. Retrieved May 20, 2005 from <http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/working%20 papers portes.pdf>.

Purkayastha, B. 2005 Negotiating Ethnicity: SecondGeneration South Asians Americans Traverse aTransnational World: New Brunswick: RutgersUniversity Press.

Reitz, J. G. and K. Somerville. 2004. “Institutional Changeand Emerging Cohorts of the ‘New’ ImmigrantSecond Generation: Implications for the Integrationof Racial Minorities in Canada.” Journal ofInternational Migration and Integration, 5(4): 385-418.

Rumbaut, R. 2003. Conceptual and MethodologicalProblems in the Study of the ‘Immigrant SecondGeneration’ in the United States. Paper presentedat the Conceptual and Methodological Developmentin the Study of International Migration, at PrincetonUniversity, New Jersey, May 23-24, 2003.

Rumbaut, R. G. 2002. “Severed or Sustained Attachments?Language, Identity, and Imagined Communiuties inthe Post-Immigrant Generation”, (pp. 43-95) in P.Levitt and M. Waters (eds.), The Changing Face ofHome: The Transnational Lives of the SecondGeneration: New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Smith, R. C. 2002. “Life Course, Generation and SocialLocation as Factors Shaping Second-GenerationTransnational Life” (pp. 145-167) in P. Levitt and

M. Waters (eds.), The Changing Face of Home: TheTransnational Lives of the Second Generation: NewYork: Russell Sage Foundation.

Somerville, K. 2007. “Life Cycle Events and the Creationof Transnational Ties among Second GenerationSouth Indians” Chapter 20 in L. Tepperman and H.Dickinson (eds.), Sociology in Canada: A CanadianSociological Association Reader. Canada: OxfordUniversity Press.

Vertovec, S. 2001a. Transnational Challenges to the‘New’ Multiculturalism. Paper presented at the ASAConference, at University of Sussex. March 30-April2. Retrieved June 20, 2005 from <http://www.transcomm.ox.ac.uk/working%20papers/WPTC-2K-06%20Vertovec.pdf>

Vertovec, S. 2001b. “Transnationalism and identity.”Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 27(4):573-82.

Waters, M. 1999. Black Identities: West Indian ImmigrantDreams and American Realities. New York City:Russell Sage Foundation.

Waters, M. 1990. Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities inAmerica. Los Angeles: University of California Press

Winland, D. 1998. “Our home and native land’? Canadianethnic scholarship and the challenge oftransnationalism.” The Canadian Review ofSociology and Anthropology, 35(4): 555-577.

Wolf, D. 1997. “Family secrets: transnational strugglesamong children of Filipino immigrants.” SociologicalPerspectives, 40(3): 457-483.

KEYWORDS India; Canada; Toronto; immigration; qualitative

ABSTRACT Based on interviews with second-generation Indo-Canadians, this paper argues that communicationwith family in the homeland leads the second generation to construct their identities through a series of material andsymbolic flows across the borders of India and Canada. Through the consumption of cross-border shopping, fashion,advice, and interactions, the children of migrants develop identities within a transnational social field that includespeople, information and goods in both Canada and India. For the second generation, their sense of self is inherentlylocated within and between national borders, and they express this multi-belonging through emotions, appearancesand allegiances. This paper concludes that transnationalism is not a one generation phenomenon. A series of informalfamily networks are developed between second generation Indo-Canadians and kin in the country of origin, which actas conduits for identity construction. These identities are malleable and further modified through ongoing transnationalinteractions. Findings provide insights into the self-expression of migrant youth in today’s globalized world.

© Kamla-Raj 2008 Youth and MigrationJournal of Social Sciences Special Volume No. 10: 23-33 (2008) Anand Singh (Guest Editor)

Author’s Address: Kara Somerville, University of Saskatchewan, Department of Sociology, 1019-9Campus Dr. Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5Telephone: 306-966-7437, Fax: 306-966-6950, E-mail: [email protected]