Jasmine Ramirez, & Dr. José Luis Collazo
A new wave of Latin American migration is hitting Southern European countries as it is establishing new migrant group demographics as well as new settlement patterns. Unfortunately, there are institutional barriers that restrict migrants to fully incorporate themselves within these new destinations. Reunification family processes are restricted by ascriptive inequalities and the labor market is segmented leaving the stratification of communities and families as well as the inability for social mobility. Immigration literature remains to be male and class centered, ultimately leaving women ignored and only mentioned through the means of the family unit. I aimed to understand how intersectionality affects Mexican immigrants and their experiences in Italy. The framework used to conduct the analysis is Intersectional Theory which explains how overlapping social identities are connected to systems of oppression. The following questions were addressed: 1) What are the gendered inequalities Mexican immigrants face within their Italian experiences? and 2) What ideas are associated with Italian Nationalism? Transcription and coding of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 Mexican immigrants residing in Italy. To achieve triangulation the codes were discussed with the Principle Investigator. The findings revealed two themes: feminine troubles and nationalism linked to anti-immigrant ideologies. Feminine troubles were encompassed by sexism within different realms of society, such as in academics. In addition to seeking justice against sexism, it can result in severe punishments and or threats to their lives. Italian Nationalism is associated with anti-immigrant ideas as the sense of Italian superiority socially excludes immigrants.