Abstract
This paper explores the intimate labor of caregiving through the lens of migration, grief, and intergenerational healing. Drawing on autoethnographic method, I reflect on my experience as a Filipina daughter caring for my father during the final stages of life in a system not designed to support either of us. I position caregiving as a political and relational act—one that engages healing while navigating structural abandonment and cultural silence. The study examines how aging intersects with memory and cultural identity, especially in diasporic families where the labor of love often goes unseen. I propose that caregiving is not an endpoint of duty, but a method of meaning-making and resistance. This work invites broader reflection on how societies might honor the invisible labor of racialized migrant caregivers and understand care as a communal practice that resists erasure and centers continuity.
Presenters
Karel Joyce KalawAssociate Professor, Sociology, Gerontology & Substance Abuse Studies, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Migrant caregiving, Intergenerational healing, Autoethnography, Aging and cultural identity, Emotional labor, Decolonial theory, Feminist care ethics, Diasporic families
