Verhalen over recht en identiteit. Ervaringen van Nederlandse vrouwen met een buitenlandse partner met het vreemdelingenrecht

Samenvatting

Stories about Law and Identity. Experiences in Relation to Immigration Law of Dutch Women with Migrant Partners. This chapter describes the impact of immigration law on the everyday life of female Dutch citizens who have migrant partners. Based on interviews with Dutch women with migrant partners, the chapter addresses two questions: what consequence does immigration law have for their everyday lives, especially in the fields of marriage and relationship, gender relations, and labor and care? What are the consequences of immigration law for the identity of Dutch women with a foreign partner? The interviews show that immigration law excludes women and limits their choices in various ways. These experiences, combined with other social experiences of discrimination for example, make women reformulate their identity. They no longer feel 'Dutch' like other Dutch people, but formulate a new identity as 'Dutch women in a mixed relationship'. The stories women tell about immigration law are contradictory. They think immigration law is unjust and oppressive, but do not contest the legitimacy of immigration law. They do not resist the restrictive immigration policies, but they resist its consequences for their individual love and family life. Still, they take over the meanings of immigration law, and see its requirements as natural and justified. 27 References. Adapted from the source document.