Intergenerational Transmission of Gendered Dynamics: Bearing Witness to A Mother’s Sacrifice

Abstract Book of the 8th Global Conference on Women's Studies

Year: 2026

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Intergenerational Transmission of Gendered Dynamics: Bearing Witness to A Mother’s Sacrifice

Kim Nguyen-Nalpas

ABSTRACT:

Expectations for mothers to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the family are a common practice across several contexts. In families where mothers perform their duties at their own expense, how does bearing witness to the mother’s sacrifices shape the daughter’s framework for what it means to be a “good mother”? How might this process take shape for Vietnamese refugee mothers living in the United States? The author conducted in-depth interviews with grandmothers and mothers to explore how gendered dynamics may be intergenerationally passed and how these might shape a mother’s sense of agency. Whereas older generation mothers reported working in lower-paying jobs for survival, many younger generation mothers reported sacrificing either their career aspirations or time with their children. Refugee mothers were faced with impossible choices: work more than full-time to acquire basic needs or spend critically important time with their children. Mothers were expected to carry the burdens of war and be strong for the next generation, but this suppression often manifested in maladaptive ways (e.g., yelling, stress, corporal punishment). Mothers disconnected and dissociated from their own struggles for the sake of their children. Yet, the children bore witness to their mothers’ struggles – except without being given any context as to where their mothers’ struggles were rooted. Not only are mothers expected to sacrifice because of their role as the mother, but daughters are expected to sacrifice themselves for their brothers because of their gender and to parents because of their position as daughters. The self-sacrifice placed pressure on younger generations to fulfill the desires their parents had for their academic and career success. The desire to earn parental approval and acceptance – may have driven them to sacrifice their well-being, the burdens then became the daughters’ to carry.

Keywords: Gender; Intergenerational Transmission; Mothering; Sacrifice; Qualitative