Migration and everyday discourses: Peripheralisation in rural Saxony-Anhalt from a gender perspective

An important feature of rural Eastern Germany is the negative population development in combination with strong and very selective out-migration. In the rural regions of the federal state Saxony-Anhalt the effects of a demographic shrinking process and female migration have been shown especially clearly. Since spatial discourses and courses of action connected with the production of rural peripheries are a mirror reflection of social conditions, the selective migration of young women directs one's attention towards possible correlations between uneven spatial developments and gender questions. Considering the fact that employment of women is socially rooted and an exemplary provision with childcare facilities benefits the reconciliation of family and work for young families, the pronounced shortage of young women in the new German federal states seems remarkable at a first glance. Against this backdrop the paper highlights different aspects of peripheralisation processes like stigmatisation, disconnection and migration against the backdrop of the economic transformation and regional discourses. The focus is on explanations for gender-specific migration pattern and the everyday-life perspective of young women. Especially the underlying implicit social communication patterns, expectations of young people's actions in rural areas and the migration decision of young women with narratives of leaving and returning are considered.