ABSTRACT
Mexican migrant women in the United States who have left children in Mexico are constantly engaging with the meanings of motherhood. There are two goals in this chapter: the first one is to theorize gender and migration from the perspective of transnational motherhood and the Mexican sociocultural context. Second, to understand in more qualitative detail how women who are migrants are negotiating the meanings of motherhood as they live transnational lives. The chapter attempts to demonstrate how ideals and practices of motherhood that may seem at odds are actually adaptations of what mothers consider to be “good” and “caring” mothers. The dualism of “good and bad” mothers is part of the narrative of women; however, the reality appears to be more nuanced.
