I want to know more about the role reversal between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in China these years, thanks!

You’re welcome.

Thanks for your reply.

The growth of labour migration has caused what amounts to a role reversal between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, which supports the argument that family members actively construct their roles under conditions of social change. There are two proverbs, from different eras, that capture the changes in this relationship. The older saying is “A young wife finally becomes a mother-in-law after many years suffering”, while the more recent one is “To wait on your daughter-in-law is like providing for and respecting your grandmother in old times”. The older saying portrays the prestigious position of the mother-in-law, while the more recent one emphasises the new social position of the daughter-in-law. In the wake of the changes to modes of work, some family roles appear to have been renegotiated. Childcare and housework have often shifted to grandparents, especially mothers-in-law. Compared with the collective period, the latter do less paid work but more unpaid domestic labour, which both reflects and generates their declining social status.