This paper investigates the relationships between mobility and the constitution of gender relations and subjectivities of rural-urban female migrants in Indonesia. Employing an ethnographic approach, my research explores meanings of space and changing relationships for migrant subjects. A specific group of migrants — teachers and nurses from the outer islands of Eastern Indonesia — working in urban centers elaborate on their stories of migration. The reasons and consequences of their migration reflect intricate and shifting gender relations, as boundaries of propriety are redefined through spatial movement. This kind of mobility suggests that women migrate for multiple reasons requiring various scales of analysis. Migrants reveal shifting subjectivity and changing relations with family and local communities whilst participating in political and economic spaces.
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