Matka Polka and the way social constructions are re-negotiated in transnational migration.: A qualitative study of Polish migrant live-in care workers in Germany

Goinska, Aleksandra Dorota

4. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization, Master

2015

2015-07-30

63

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan polske kvinder, der arbejder i Tyskland som indboende migrant-omsorgsarbejdere, forhandler deres roller som mødre og ægtefæller, mens de bor i udlandet, og hvordan de skaber nærhed til deres familier på tværs af grænser. Studiet bygger på kvalitative metoder: semistrukturerede interviews med omsorgsarbejderne og nogle af deres familiemedlemmer. Interviews blev gennemført online og ved personlige møder i Polen. Kvinderne yder typisk døgnbaseret pleje i tyske husholdninger. I analysens første del beskrives den kulturelle figur Matka Polka ("Mother Pole")—et ideal om en kvinde, som er dybt hengiven over for hjem og familie. Deltagernes erfaringer nuancerer dette ideal: De støtter deres egne familier på afstand, samtidig med at de får løn for at tage sig af fremmede, hvilket synliggør omsorgsarbejdets kompleksitet i et transnationalt rum. Resultaterne viser, at kvinderne ikke fuldt ud identificerer sig med det traditionelle Matka Polka-billede; migration omformer det til en mere fjern, men stadig relevant, version i deres liv. De vedligeholder familiebånd gennem virtuel kommunikation og gennem remitter, forstået ikke kun som penge, men også som følelsesmæssig og social støtte. Samfundets forventninger til kvinder i Polen er fortsat betydningsfulde, men familierne tilpasser normerne, når migration ændrer hverdagen. Samlet set viser specialet, hvordan transnational migration forandrer kønnede omsorgsroller uden at udslette kulturelle idealer.

This thesis examines how Polish women who work in Germany as live-in migrant care workers negotiate their roles as mothers and wives while living abroad, and how they maintain closeness with their families across borders. The study uses qualitative methods: semi-structured interviews with the care workers and some of their family members. Interviews were conducted online and in person in Poland. The women typically provide round-the-clock care in German households. The first part of the analysis discusses the cultural figure of Matka Polka ("Mother Pole")—an ideal of a woman deeply devoted to home and family. The participants’ experiences complicate this ideal: they support their own families from a distance while being paid to care for strangers, revealing the complexity of care work in a transnational setting. Findings show that the women do not fully identify with the traditional Matka Polka image; migration reshapes it into a more distant yet still relevant version in their lives. They maintain family ties through virtual communication and through remittances understood not only as money but also as emotional and social support. Social expectations of women in Poland remain influential, but families adapt these norms when migration changes everyday life. Overall, the thesis shows how transnational migration transforms gendered care roles without erasing cultural ideals.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

migration ; matka polka ; women ; circulation of care ; transnationalism ; care ; Poland ; Germany ; workers ; migrants

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