Young Men in the Philippines: Mapping the Costs and Debts of Work, Marriage, and Family Life

Abstract

Young adults in the Philippines face a demographic and economic situation that, when coupled with cultural expectations, compels many to consider entry into the global labor force as part and parcel of their obligation to improve their family's livelihood. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2006 and 2007 in Metro Manila and the province of Laguna, this study examines the partnership of an educational training center and a nongovernmental organization to provide services to young Filipinos transitioning to adulthood. Utilizing a cognitive map exercise given at an orientation seminar for young male migrants, the study charts their financial and family goals and traces not only the source of the intergenerational transfers of material and social assistance back to a set of cultural values but also reveals how their gendered behaviors and practices can effectively delay other markers of the transition to adulthood, such as courtship, marriage, and parenthood. © American Academy of Political & Social Science 2013.