The immigrant women protagonism in the building of the social networks to strengthening identity: the case of Brazilian women in Chicago (USA)

Abstract

This article is about the transnational migratory social networks from the idea of national and identity and making use of the gender perspective. So, we propose a research with Brazilian women who living in Chicago (USA) and building their symbolic interaction links from the organization and promotion of festivals and artistic events related to various aspects of Brazil’s culture in the city. The research method used was the Case Study, in a qualitative approach. Among the main results, we highlight how the social network contributes to the identity composition, symbolic interaction and socialization of these women and provides them an experience of autonomy and empowerment.

Keywords migratory process; gender; transnational social networks; communication