Catherine Ceniza Choy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814717226
- eISBN:
- 9781479886388
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814717226.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This chapter examines the emotional costs of Asian international adoption in the United States by focusing on the less well-known stories of pioneering American adoptive families. In particular, it ...
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This chapter examines the emotional costs of Asian international adoption in the United States by focusing on the less well-known stories of pioneering American adoptive families. In particular, it considers serious challenges that accompanied creating a family through international adoption, including spousal disagreements, financial stress, adjustment difficulties, and racial anxieties, as well as the joys of global family making. Based on such narratives, the chapter challenges the notion that adoptive children experienced a smooth and joyful transition upon arrival in the United States. Instead, it presents a more nuanced and honest portrayal of the emotional ups and downs that American families go through, not to mention the financial costs involved, when adopting Asian children.Less
This chapter examines the emotional costs of Asian international adoption in the United States by focusing on the less well-known stories of pioneering American adoptive families. In particular, it considers serious challenges that accompanied creating a family through international adoption, including spousal disagreements, financial stress, adjustment difficulties, and racial anxieties, as well as the joys of global family making. Based on such narratives, the chapter challenges the notion that adoptive children experienced a smooth and joyful transition upon arrival in the United States. Instead, it presents a more nuanced and honest portrayal of the emotional ups and downs that American families go through, not to mention the financial costs involved, when adopting Asian children.
Catherine Ceniza Choy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814717226
- eISBN:
- 9781479886388
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814717226.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This concluding chapter examines the new geographies as well as the Cold War history and legacy of international adoption in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century and the ...
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This concluding chapter examines the new geographies as well as the Cold War history and legacy of international adoption in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century and the first few years of the twenty-first century. It considers the changes that have occurred with respect to international adoption since the 1970s, especially its evolution as a truly global industry. It cites the dramatic rise in the number of international adoptions since the 1950s and 1960s and the increased diversity of the national origins of adoptive children in the United States. It also looks at other countries that have become important receiving nations of internationally adopted children, led by Norway and Spain. Finally, it discusses new controversies that have emerged such as the issue of gay and lesbian adoption. Given the vibrancy of the communities formed through Asian international adoption, the chapter calls for an expansion of the field of Asian American Studies to include adoptee experiences in its teaching, research, and professional service.Less
This concluding chapter examines the new geographies as well as the Cold War history and legacy of international adoption in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century and the first few years of the twenty-first century. It considers the changes that have occurred with respect to international adoption since the 1970s, especially its evolution as a truly global industry. It cites the dramatic rise in the number of international adoptions since the 1950s and 1960s and the increased diversity of the national origins of adoptive children in the United States. It also looks at other countries that have become important receiving nations of internationally adopted children, led by Norway and Spain. Finally, it discusses new controversies that have emerged such as the issue of gay and lesbian adoption. Given the vibrancy of the communities formed through Asian international adoption, the chapter calls for an expansion of the field of Asian American Studies to include adoptee experiences in its teaching, research, and professional service.
Catherine Ceniza Choy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814717226
- eISBN:
- 9781479886388
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814717226.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of ...
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In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. This book unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the US military in Asia, it reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and US servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children. The book moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of US multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, it acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.Less
In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. This book unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the US military in Asia, it reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and US servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children. The book moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of US multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, it acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.
Caroline Legrand
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814791011
- eISBN:
- 9780814764473
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814791011.003.0014
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter explores how the search for ancestral “roots” differs between transnational adoptees and the descendants of immigrants. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in France, Ireland, and ...
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This chapter explores how the search for ancestral “roots” differs between transnational adoptees and the descendants of immigrants. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in France, Ireland, and Québec, this chapter constructs an anthropology of genealogical practices. Given that reclaiming the culture of origin does not hold the same meanings for members of each group, the two groups construct distinct relationships to genealogical memory and knowledge. The chapter examines what hides behind these “routes to the roots” projects by exploring questions of who owns the rights to investigate their ancestry. Furthermore, it looks into the ways in which adoptive parents and even state institutions can benefit from exploring the genealogies of adopted or emigrated citizens.Less
This chapter explores how the search for ancestral “roots” differs between transnational adoptees and the descendants of immigrants. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in France, Ireland, and Québec, this chapter constructs an anthropology of genealogical practices. Given that reclaiming the culture of origin does not hold the same meanings for members of each group, the two groups construct distinct relationships to genealogical memory and knowledge. The chapter examines what hides behind these “routes to the roots” projects by exploring questions of who owns the rights to investigate their ancestry. Furthermore, it looks into the ways in which adoptive parents and even state institutions can benefit from exploring the genealogies of adopted or emigrated citizens.
