Privileged Migration to the Philippines

This ethnographic project investigates how privilege travels among expatriates living in Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines, by exploring the dynamics of privilege and belonging in the context of migration from high-income to low-income countries. It focuses on expatriates’ moral reasoning, how they justify their privilege, and how they navigate identity and status in a post-colonial landscape. The research considers factors like gender, race, age, and class in shaping the way privilege is understood and acted upon, and how this influences the formation of symbolic boundaries within expatriate communities. Using a mix of semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the study examines the intersection of economic and cultural capital, contributing new insights into the global flows of privilege, migration, and identity formation in a rapidly changing international context.