In this article I explore the issue of nursing status in Kerala, India and how over time a colonial discourse of caste-based pollution has given way to a discourse of sexual pollution under expanding migratory opportunities. Based on survey and qualitative research findings, I caution that the improving occupational status of nursing in India is not directly mapped onto social status, and this is particularly evident in the matrimonial market. In the light of these findings I argue that global nursing care chain (GNCC) analysis must assess more than just workplace contexts in order to conceptualize how global care chains (GCCs) interlock, and how they are differentiated from each other. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd & Global Networks Partnership.

GLOBAL NURSING CARE CHAIN (GNCC) Migration Kerala India Gender

sexual behavior India nursing globalization Regional planning nursing care caste colonialism marriage social status gender role workplace occupation Kerala pollution health services health care gender migration international migration health worker