Migrant Bodies, Contraceptive Gaps

Labor, Intimacy, and Technology in the Lives of Indonesian Workers in Taiwan

Tzu-Chi Ou

December 4, 2026 / 18:00-19:30

Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University

In person only / No registration required

This paper examines dominant assumptions surrounding pregnancy among Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan, particularly the notion that pregnancy results from individual, rational decision-making. Such perspectives from Taiwanese mainstream society often frame pregnant migrant workers as “irresponsible” or “incompetent” parents. In contrast, this study focuses on the lived experiences of migrant workers, highlighting how labor conditions, intimate relationships, and access to technology shape their reproductive lives. Drawing on interviews with 60 Indonesian migrant workers who gave birth in Taiwan within the past two years, this paper explores how their stories of pregnancy and childbirth are embedded within their broader life trajectories. The findings reveal how migrant bodies navigate “contraceptive gaps” produced by the international labor migration regime. First, labor conditions—such as night shifts and limited rest days—complicate contraceptive use. Second, long-distance relationships challenge the maintenance of intimacy and complicate decisions around reproduction. Third, discrepancies between prevalent contraceptive practices in Taiwan and Indonesia, alongside uneven access to information and the influence of social media, further shape their reproductive choices. By unsettling rationalist and individualistic narratives of pregnancy, this paper offers a nuanced account of how intimacy and reproduction are negotiated under Taiwan’s guest worker system. It contributes to broader debates on transnational labor migration and the politics of reproduction.

Tzu-Chi Ou is an Associate Professor at the International College of Innovation, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. She earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 2018 and previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica. Her research examines migration regimes and the rural–urban divide, with a specific focus on how intimacy, family-making, and place-making shape the lives of migrant workers in China and Taiwan. Her current projects investigate the reproductive rights and parenting practices of Southeast Asian migrant workers in Taiwan, alongside community-engaged initiatives that bridge international students and migrant communities. Her scholarship has been published in Pacific Affairs, positions: asia critique, and the Taiwan Journal of Anthropology. www.outzuchi.com

This talk is organized by Dodom Kim (Assistant Professor, Sophia University).