「落地．生根」:客家外籍配偶婚姻生活適應策略─以頭份鎮外籍配偶識字班為例

Abstract

本研究目的在探討東南亞籍外籍配偶的婚姻生活樣態及其適應策略。迎娶外籍配偶的熱潮在台灣雖有消退的趨勢，但四十餘萬名外籍配偶已悄悄地落地生根成為台灣媳婦，總人口數已接近原住民總人數，其影響力不容小覷。她們選擇跨國婚姻大多數是受到原鄉貧困生活所趨使，且對異國婚姻充滿期待與憧憬，但大部份外籍配偶都在跨國婚姻開始後夢想幻滅。跨國婚姻首先面對語言、文化和飲食等生活本能的建構和適應，如果沒有得到夫家支持和協助，適應台灣的新生活對他們而言將是一項艱難的挑戰。其次是夫家的社經地位居中下階層，經濟狀況並非她們所預期，甚至還得靠她們維持家計，有些外籍配偶還得面對婚姻暴力的恐懼。即使跨國婚姻非她們所預期的美好，但她們大多數還是選擇留在台灣謀生存。為了維繫生活和諧，努力「調適」以符合社會規範是她們運用的策略，私底下透過生育權、爭取經濟獨立、建構人際關係網絡和讀書識字增能等方法，以爭取自主權和脫離對夫家的生活依賴。本研究透過服務學校外籍配偶識字班成員訪談，從中立意抽樣13位進行深度訪談和觀察，了解她們在跨國婚姻中的生活適應策略，並訪談其夫家、識字班老師及社區民眾的觀點做為資料驗證。

This study aims to discuss marital lives of marriage immigrants from Southeast Asia and their adaptive strategies. Although marrying foreign spouses is not as popular as before, there are around 40,000 foreign spouses living as Taiwanese daughters-in-law, whose number is now close to the aboriginal population. Owing to their large population, the influence of marriage immigrants cannot be ignored. Driven by poverty, many of them choose to enter cross-border marriage out of desire for a better life; however, many of their dreams shatter after they start their marriage on a foreign soil. Language barrier, cultural difference and new food culture are first difficulties that foreign spouses encounter. If their marital families do not support or assist them, adopting Taiwanese lifestyle would be a huge challenge for them. The second issue is related to the low socioeconomic status of their marital families, which often cause foreign spouses to shoulder the economic burden. In addition to this, some of these foreign spouses have to endure the threat of domestic violence. Although these difficulties brought by cross-border marriages might not be envisioned by them, the majority of them still choose to stay in Taiwan. Adopting new lifestyles and maintaining good family relationships are their common survival strategies. Nevertheless, they empowered themselves privately by negotiating their child-bearing choices, fighting for economic independence, constructing social networks, and learning the new language. These strategies help them decrease their economic dependence and increase their agency. Through purposive sampling, the researcher interviewed and observed 13 foreign spouses who attend literacy class, and analyzed their adoptive strategies in cross-border marriage. Foreign spouses’ marital families, teacher of the literacy class, and neighbors were simultaneously interviewed, whose perspectives can be used to contrast with those of foreign spouses’.