ABSTRACT This article focuses upon the myth of the South Asian family as a self-fulfilling unit in which a construction of ‘looking after their own’ in the diaspora is perpetuated which intrinsically assumes how care and caring are organised at home. The Care in the Community agenda in Britain, which comes out of the contemporary neoliberal paradigm of austerity in which social welfare services have been dramatically cut and reformulated, utilises this imagined myth of the South Asian family in its judgements of the needs of South Asian women elders. Based on fieldwork at a South Asian women’s centre in Britain, the article highlights how women’s senses of self and selflessness relate to and reflect the neoliberal decline of welfare in which ‘looking after their own’ presents an ideal for policies which are rescinding delivery of services and entitlements. We highlight how South Asian women elders are absorbing the burdens of this social care paradigm shift while also bearing the strains of generational shifts around the culture of the family and expectations of women’s roles as they move through the life course as carers and as those being cared for.

中文翻译：

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南亚女长者与英国“社区关怀”的日常生活：社会关怀的新自由主义转向与家庭神话

摘要 本文关注南亚家庭作为一个自我实现单位的​​神话，在这种神话中，侨民中“照顾自己”的结构得以延续，本质上假设家庭中的护理和照料是如何组织的。英国的社区关怀议程源自当代新自由主义紧缩范式，其中社会福利服务已被大幅削减和重新制定，利用这一想象中的南亚家庭神话来判断南亚妇女的需求长辈。根据在英国南亚妇女中心的实地调查，这篇文章强调了女性的自我意识和无私意识如何与新自由主义的福利下降相关并反映出新自由主义的福利下降，其中“照顾自己”是取消提供服务和权利的政策的理想选择。我们强调南亚女长者如何在承担这种社会关怀范式转变的负担的同时，也承受着围绕家庭文化的代际转变的压力，以及在她们作为照顾者和被照顾者度过生命历程时对女性角色的期望为了。