Filial or Rebellious Daughters? Dagongmei in the Pearl River Delta Region, South China, in the 1990s

Abstract

Economic opportunities in the Pearl River Delta region in Southern China have attracted a large number of unmarried female temporary workers or dagongmei from the central and western regions of the country. Existing literature on the dagongmei tend to cast them into either “rebellious” or “filial” daughters. This study reexamines these ideal types based mainly on data gathered from in-depth interviews with 75 female and 55 male factory workers in 1993 and 1994. Data gathered from male workers allowed the study to compare behavior patterns and life plans of male and female temporary labor migrants. The study suggests that it might be more meaningful to understand the tension the dagongmei face in their desire to be independent and their sense of family obligation.