Transatlantic repatriation: Stigma management of second-generation Italian and Greek American women ‘returning home’

Abstract

Based on 30 narrative-biographic interviews with second-generation Greek and Italian women who have migrated from the USA to their ancestral homelands of Greece and Italy, our paper explores nuances of their stigma management by focusing on the interaction between their pre-repatriation past and post-repatriation present and the spaces of inclusion and exclusion. We investigate from the insider perspective the interplay between returnee-women's rejection and acceptance of stigma and, particularly, their use of body politics in negotiating their new living spaces. Adopting the method of narrative biographic analysis, we present three detailed case studies of repatriate women -organized as composite biographies -to illuminate from different angles the process of stigma management and body politics. Our findings contribute to the elaboration of concepts 'diasporic duress' ('transnational/diasporic patriarchy') and 'nativity voucher'; while also highlighting the dynamics in the reproduction of the diasporic patriarchy through repatriation to the ancestral homeland.

Adaptation: Retrospection of a Decade

“…Shortland and Perkins (2020) found that early-career stage female expatriates believe that equality/diversity policy implementation will support their international careers while senior levels female expatriates highlighted unequal treatment, breaching trust in delivery of equality/diversity principles affect their career progression. Others female expatriate articles systematically analysed include (Shortland, 2020;Isaakyan and Triandafyllidou, 2019;Shortland and Perkins, 2016;Shortland, 2016;Shortland 2014).…”

How TalkTalk did the walk-walk: strategic reputational repair in a cyber-attack

“…The reputation repair strategies traitors, criminals, those with physical deformities, and even migrants (Isaakyan and Triandafyllidou, 2019;Pescosolido and Martin, 2015). This allegorical use of the word 'stigma', however, resonated with some scholars who have found relevance for the word as a concept to explore the emergence and enactment of identities that are perceived by some social audiences as deviating from the expected social identity (Ashforth and Kreiner, 1999;Sutton and Callahan, 1987;Goffman, 1963).…”

“…Tracing the etymology of the word “stigma” takes a curious mind on a retrospective journey to an era where the word was used to identify bodily marks such as cuts, scars, or burns. These marks were often associated with individuals with lower social status, such as slaves, traitors, criminals, those with physical deformities, and even migrants (Isaakyan and Triandafyllidou, 2019; Pescosolido and Martin, 2015). This allegorical use of the word ‘stigma’, however, resonated with some scholars who have found relevance for the word as a concept to explore the emergence and enactment of identities that are perceived by some social audiences as deviating from the expected social identity (Ashforth and Kreiner, 1999; Sutton and Callahan, 1987; Goffman, 1963).…”