Ethnic Performers vs. Casino Customers: How Do Older Chinese Immigrants Mobilize Social Support Through Organizational Involvement.

• In Event: 20862 - Section on International Migration Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4: Migration and Social Capital

Abstract

The rising number of older immigrants in the United States calls for a deeper understanding of their post-retirement support network. Although many have examined the shifting norms around filial care and its impacts on older immigrants’ well-being, we know much less about how older immigrants mobilize support from non-kin ties, especially in non-ethnic and non-age-based spaces. How do they build ties to non-kin persons and mobilize care when needed? How does participating in different leisure activities shape their access to social capital during personal crises?

This article draws on two years of fieldwork and in-depth interviews with 42 older Chinese immigrants in the Greater Boston area to show that class and gender intersect to shape my participants’ non-kin network and social capital activation through their routine participation in ethnic performance and recreational gambling activities.

Specifically, those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to have performance skills that are valued by ethnic organizations as a representation of the Chinese culture and a leverage for funding applications. Because of the gendered performance of ethnic identity, older women are also more easily recruited to the routine practices and performances than their male counterparts, which grants them access to larger networks of coethnic, more opportunities to develop trust with non-kin persons, and greater activation of resources embedded in ethnic organizations.

By contrast, poor elders with minimum resources to exchange with each other are often drawn to visit casinos regularly to remain socially engaged and to make some money. Although they are valued as customers through the voucher promotion system, the casino’s interaction context induces suspicion and competition among its customers which prevents my participants from developing trustful non-kin relations and tapping into the resources embedded in those ties. Some also fall into the trap of gambling addiction which jeopardizes their already meager income.

Author

• Xuemei Cao, Bentley University