Cross-cultural families in Singapore : transnational marriages and divorces

This chapter focuses on a particular group of transnational families in Singapore – those formed through the marital union of a Singapore citizen and a non-resident (i.e. non-citizen, non-permanent resident) at the point of marriage. Using anecdotal evidence collected through in-depth interviews with 47 transnational divorced individuals, this chapter examines one, the cultural meanings of family, marriage and divorce these respondents brought to their transnational marriages; two, the cultural expectations they held of their marriage partner; and finally, the cross-cultural family practices these transnational families constructed. The chapter discusses how broader global and local structures and processes shape these meanings, expectations and practices in transnational spaces, and therefore bring about the respondents' situational responses and strategies. At the same time, the findings also reveal the issues and struggles the respondents encountered during the transnational marriage that eventually led to marital breakdown and dissolution