Intimacy and Intergenerational Relations in Rural China

Liu, Jieyu

Abstract

This article applies the concept of intimacy to examine relationships between adult children and their parents in rural China – an area which has been predominantly located in an obligatory framework. I reveal a qualitative difference in support between relationships built on intimate ties
and those bound by duty and obligation. A unilateral emphasis on obligation-based relationships can deprive both the parent and adult child generations of agency and autonomy, which can be
disempowering for both. The complex relations between intimacy and obligation are the product of local socio-economic circumstances and gender norms. Although traditional patrilineal and patrilocal culture excludes married daughters from the filial discourse surrounding their own parents, they are often considered to have the most intimate relationship with their parents. Paradoxically, the practices of intimacy between aged parents and their married daughters
strengthen the natal ties that facilitate modifications to patrilocal and patrilineal customs.

Citation

Liu, J. (2017). Intimacy and Intergenerational Relations in Rural China. Sociology, 51(5), 1034-1049. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516639505

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 13, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 27, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 8, 2020
• Journal: Sociology
• Print ISSN: 0038-0385
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-8684
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1034-1049
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516639505
• Keywords: ageing, family, gender, intergenerational relations, intimacy, migration, rural China, social change
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Published online before print: 27 April 2016.