Engendering Transnational Migration

This article examines how transnational practices and discourses affect existing social identities and power relationships in a northeastern section of El Salvador that has become tightly networked to some of New York City's suburbs owing to years of migration. The author identifies various practices, discourses, and processes influencing gender relations and argues that transnational factors are a significant but not singular agent for change. Conversely, she finds that multiple agents and agencies at the local, regional, and transnational levels affect gender relations. This textured portraiture communicates mixed messages to the youthful population in this region who represent the next generation of likely migrants. In the conclusion, she addresses girls' and boys' attitudes in northern La Unión toward migration and speculates how they have been shaped by transnational processes and gender relations.