SUICIDE NARRATIVES AND IN-BETWEEN IDENTITIES AMONG SRI LANKA'S FACTORY WORKERS

Abstract

The suicide narratives (talk, jokes, threats, and writings) of Sri Lanka’s Free Trade Zone garment factory workers help them survive difficult lives in the city. The narratives mix and match the cultural discourses they straddle as young, unmarried village women who migrate to work in transnational factories. Suicide narratives are a local response to global capital and cultural flows. They let the workers express gains and losses of their in-between lives as temporary residents in an urban, transnational space. The article explores gender norms, class cultures, and what these narratives mean for transformative politics.