The article looks at how the intersectionality of race, gender, immigration, ethnicity, and womanhood affects older Chinese immigrant women in Canada. It takes the intersectionality framework to look at the gaps when it comes to their variable. “Influences of age, gender, immigrant status, and ethnicity” (Wang et.). Twelve in-depth interviews were used for this study. They found that using the intersectional perspective could better inform the demographic being studied. It breaks down what influence migrating may have on these immigrants.
The experience that older immigrants have is very different from the ones younger people who immigrate or have children. For instance, they lose their connection with their home country. This could lead to them feeling isolated. Not have people to talk to or friends with whom they can share their life stories. “Older immigrants were dependent on their adult children for both instrumental and financial support” (Wang et.) There could be many reasons for this, starting with the fact that it could be challenging for these older immigrants to learn a new language, which could be a barrier to getting into the workforce. They also can’t sign any documents in their host country’s language, so they must rely on their children. The article then goes into how gender can affect this isolation.
The intersection of gender and acculturation into a new country has some research on it. In a different study that the article cited, “it found that women did have less acculturation and were less likely to live independently compared to their male counterparts.” (Wang et) This could be because of widowhood, where the family feels the widower can’t stay in the house. So, they either live with the family or they live in the home. The study found that gender played a role in acculturation. Females were the ones tasked with caregiving responsibility. This could be because they spend so much time taking care of a dying family that they can’t acculturate into the culture. There needs to be more research done on this topic.
https://www.proquest.com/sociology/docview/2871782914/7E75D5A82F404767PQ/2?accountid=10639