13/05/2015: GTD Colloquium “A proper wife, a proper marriage. Orientalist identity constructions in Dutch political debates on family migration” by Saskia Bonjour
A proper wife, a proper marriage. Orientalist identity constructions in Dutch political debates on family migration
Saskia Bonjour (University of Amsterdam)
Globalisation, Transnationalism & Development Colloquium organised in association with Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development
Abstract: In this talk I argue that discourses and policies on family reunification participate in the politics of belonging, and that gender and family norms play a crucial role in this production of collective identities, i.e. in defining who ‘we’ are and what distinguishes ‘us’ from ‘the others’. Through an analysis of Dutch debates about family migration policy, I examine how gender and ethnicity intersect in the ‘othering’ of transnational marriages and the women who engage in them. These Orientalist practices of ‘othering’ legitimize restrictive reforms of marriage migration policies. Also, and no less importantly, they serve the symbolic function of defining Dutch identity, and show that the government protects this identity.