Filial Daughters?7 for three weeks.I worked as a waitress again in order to observe any changes in the restaurant and with the employees.In order to collect more materials and keep myself updated,I revisited the restaurant from December 2012 to January 2013,June to July 2013 and March to April 2014,during which periods I conducted some follow-up interviews and observations.From the very begin- ning of the fieldwork I repeatedly read the field notes,the interview summaries I wrote immediately after each interview,and also the full transcripts of certain interviews.Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.Its techniques of repe- tition,similarities and differences are core to this method.35 The process of iden- tifying themes was based on the following principles:themes that I considered important to the migrants;recurring themes;themes of similarities and differ- ences within the group;themes that differed from the literature;and themes that linked to the research questions.Themes were identified based on intensive and repeated readings of the interview summaries and field notes.36 Emipiral Findings Choosing a partner and marriage negotiations are complicated and interactive processes.The variation of marital status contributes to the different experiences and self-understanding of migrant women.In this section,I first use Ru Nan's case study to explore how she embodied the idea of filial piety as a moral prin- ciple to regulate her behaviour.Exemplified by the case of Yue,I then consider the contradiction and conflict between being filial and pursuing romantic love.I also address how Yue's relationships with her parents-in-law and partner reflected her post-marriage status.The last part discusses the rising power of mar- ried migrant women and the perpetuation of conventional gender ideas and prac- tices.All three parts respond to the question of how women's agency was exerted and subjectivity was represented. Filial piety of unmarried women Several of my female informants recounted that they had experienced unfair treatment because of their parents'preference for sons,which corresponds with other research.Son preference is prevalent in many parts of China,especially in rural areas.37 Although they are treated unfairly,some women still feel obliged to fulfil their filial obligations by sending back remittances and attending arranged matches as required.Ru Nan was one such woman.She was born in 1993.When I met her,I quickly noticed that her first name,Ru Nan,has the same pronunciation as ru nan如男，which literally means“like a man'”in Chinese.It is very typical for a family to give this name to a first-born baby 35 Ryan and Bernard 2003,102. 36 A more detailed discussion of methodology can be seen in Shen 2015a.2015b. 37 Gao 1993;Qiao 2004:Yuan and Shi 2005. CMM JOURNALS http://journals.cambridge.org Downloaded:03 May 2016 IP address:104.237.91.180http://journals.cambridge.org Downloaded: 03 May 2016 IP address: 104.237.91.180 for three weeks. I worked as a waitress again in order to observe any changes in the restaurant and with the employees. In order to collect more materials and keep myself updated, I revisited the restaurant from December 2012 to January 2013, June to July 2013 and March to April 2014, during which periods I conducted some follow-up interviews and observations. From the very begin￾ning of the fieldwork I repeatedly read the field notes, the interview summaries I wrote immediately after each interview, and also the full transcripts of certain interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Its techniques of repe￾tition, similarities and differences are core to this method.35 The process of iden￾tifying themes was based on the following principles: themes that I considered important to the migrants; recurring themes; themes of similarities and differ￾ences within the group; themes that differed from the literature; and themes that linked to the research questions. Themes were identified based on intensive and repeated readings of the interview summaries and field notes.36 Emipiral Findings Choosing a partner and marriage negotiations are complicated and interactive processes. The variation of marital status contributes to the different experiences and self-understanding of migrant women. In this section, I first use Ru Nan’s case study to explore how she embodied the idea of filial piety as a moral prin￾ciple to regulate her behaviour. Exemplified by the case of Yue, I then consider the contradiction and conflict between being filial and pursuing romantic love. I also address how Yue’s relationships with her parents-in-law and partner reflected her post-marriage status. The last part discusses the rising power of mar￾ried migrant women and the perpetuation of conventional gender ideas and prac￾tices. All three parts respond to the question of how women’s agency was exerted and subjectivity was represented. Filial piety of unmarried women Several of my female informants recounted that they had experienced unfair treatment because of their parents’ preference for sons, which corresponds with other research. Son preference is prevalent in many parts of China, especially in rural areas.37 Although they are treated unfairly, some women still feel obliged to fulfil their filial obligations by sending back remittances and attending arranged matches as required. Ru Nan was one such woman. She was born in 1993. When I met her, I quickly noticed that her first name, Ru Nan, has the same pronunciation as ru nan 如男, which literally means “like a man” in Chinese. It is very typical for a family to give this name to a first-born baby 35 Ryan and Bernard 2003, 102. 36 A more detailed discussion of methodology can be seen in Shen 2015a, 2015b. 37 Gao 1993; Qiao 2004; Yuan and Shi 2005. Filial Daughters? 7