Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan

This article examines the evolving roles of Vietnamese married immigrant women in Taiwan, focusing on their experiences as primary breadwinners within the family. Drawing on Zimmerman’s concept of "doing gender," it explores how these women handle traditional gendered expectations while f...

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Main Author: Quoc Tuan Huynh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dr. Seyat Polat 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Language
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.jssal.com/index.php/jssal/article/view/182
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author Quoc Tuan Huynh
author_facet Quoc Tuan Huynh
author_sort Quoc Tuan Huynh
collection DOAJ
description This article examines the evolving roles of Vietnamese married immigrant women in Taiwan, focusing on their experiences as primary breadwinners within the family. Drawing on Zimmerman’s concept of "doing gender," it explores how these women handle traditional gendered expectations while fulfilling their roles as earners and caregivers. Through in-depth interviews with 13 Vietnamese women, the study highlights how they perceive self-sacrifice and suffering as integral to their sense of dignity. The article demonstrates that while caregiving remains central to their understanding of womanhood, these women view the breadwinner role as both a responsibility and a means to challenge the stigma of being a “bad mother.” The article further reveals how language barriers shape their life and influence power dynamics within the family. The study contributes to the broader discourse on gender, migration, and caregiving; offering insights into the complex intersection of cultural norms, familial obligations, and women’s agency in transnational contexts. Future research could examine how transnational caregiving and breadwinning roles reshape gender norms and family dynamics over time.
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spelling doaj-art-e7e0704dae23455bb36c3003bda6f4eb2025-08-20T03:11:57ZengDr. Seyat PolatJournal of Research in Social Sciences and Language2747-56462025-04-0110.71514/jssal/2025.182Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in TaiwanQuoc Tuan Huynh0PhD Program in Asia-Pacific Regional Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan This article examines the evolving roles of Vietnamese married immigrant women in Taiwan, focusing on their experiences as primary breadwinners within the family. Drawing on Zimmerman’s concept of "doing gender," it explores how these women handle traditional gendered expectations while fulfilling their roles as earners and caregivers. Through in-depth interviews with 13 Vietnamese women, the study highlights how they perceive self-sacrifice and suffering as integral to their sense of dignity. The article demonstrates that while caregiving remains central to their understanding of womanhood, these women view the breadwinner role as both a responsibility and a means to challenge the stigma of being a “bad mother.” The article further reveals how language barriers shape their life and influence power dynamics within the family. The study contributes to the broader discourse on gender, migration, and caregiving; offering insights into the complex intersection of cultural norms, familial obligations, and women’s agency in transnational contexts. Future research could examine how transnational caregiving and breadwinning roles reshape gender norms and family dynamics over time. https://www.jssal.com/index.php/jssal/article/view/182Vietnamese immigrant womenbreadwinner womendoing genderdual responsibilitieslanguage barriers
spellingShingle Quoc Tuan Huynh
Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan
Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Language
Vietnamese immigrant women
breadwinner women
doing gender
dual responsibilities
language barriers
title Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan
title_full Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan
title_fullStr Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan
title_full_unstemmed Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan
title_short Negotiating Gender and Language Barriers: Dual Roles of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women in Taiwan
title_sort negotiating gender and language barriers dual roles of vietnamese married immigrant women in taiwan
topic Vietnamese immigrant women
breadwinner women
doing gender
dual responsibilities
language barriers
url https://www.jssal.com/index.php/jssal/article/view/182
work_keys_str_mv AT quoctuanhuynh negotiatinggenderandlanguagebarriersdualrolesofvietnamesemarriedimmigrantwomenintaiwan