A choice of no choice: depleted capital and the intersectional burdens of rural Peidu mothers

This article examines the experiences of rural Chinese Peidu mothers - women who migrate temporarily to cities to accompany their children’s schooling - through Bourdieu’s concept of capital and the lens of intersectionality. Based on one year of ethnographic fieldwork in Anhui Province, the study examines the challenges these mothers face and how they understand their caregiving roles. Findings show that rural Peidu mothers invested heavily in their children’s education through economic, cultural, and emotional capital, but these resources were largely depleted and rarely replenished because of intersecting inequalities of gender, class, and rural background. Their intensive efforts were often blocked from translating into educational advantage, while their contributions remained undervalued and they were held morally accountable. The study highlights the gendered costs of educational mobility in rural China and argues for stronger interpersonal recognition and support alongside policy change to address the structural conditions that produce and normalise Peidu.