Personal: Adoption: It's for LIFE, People.....

I do think that adopting from some place like Haiti or smth where the kids have a 98% guarantee at a horrible life and death before reaching adulthood (however stunted that adulthood may be) has its merits, bc in reality the situation IS so much worse there than here (in very basic, bottom of Maslow's pyramid, terms). And I really think that, for all the moralizing that the US govt and even Americans in general do, they sure don't live up to it.

I personally could give a shit if, I dunno, cutting the necks off sweatshirts becomes popular bc some tv character did it--but KIDS? This is serious business, people! And yes, many people do adopt internationally because of more lax processing. This is good and its bad. One the one hand, they let way too many people through with Intl Adoption. I've MET some of the crazies that have adopted from China, and I do not believe that SO many of them are in ANY way educated (or some of them even capable) about handling interracial adoption, adoption in general, etc.

I honestly don't think that this is my personal bias speaking here, but I have been observing pretty closely Yahoo groups (not that these are totally representative, but with like 17000 members on "Adoptive Parents- China", I think its a pretty good sample), and I really feel like first--the Asian Moms (and Dads) by Choice and African American Parents Adopting Ethiopian Children are the best group of people w/ regards to adoption. They just GET IT in a way that so few people do (not even me to some extent-I will ALWAYS lack the lived experience, no matter how much I try to educate/understand stuff).

Secondly, the First Adopt (people who do not plan to have any bio children) group is pretty damn good, considering there's only like 1 non-Caucasian person, and like 2 Caucasian people w/ non-Caucasian husbands. It reads much more like since they've made this choice not out of infertility, and bc they've committed their lives to it consciously, they've thought about what they're doing to an extent that most infertile or bio/adopted mixed families just haven't felt the need to. The FA group, oddly enough, isn't a religious group. Again, it seems like kind of an anomaly, but the FAers *seem* to be a lot less sentimental/holier-than-thou about their choice (on some level I think its bc most of us have gotten so much shit about it-even from religious fanatics and esp from neo-cons).

Behind that is the Transracial adoption group (mainly Caucasian parents of Black children) and Adoption Haircare (again mainly Caucasian parents who support each other and find resources for dealing w/ Black hair issues). W/ the Transracial group you get a lot of preachy praying stuff for some reason, many times looking at themselves like some pinnacle of righteousness for taking a "heathen AND Black AND parentless AND ..." kid into "their" home.

OMIGOD that was, by the way, where I read about that family in Idaho who met each other "after living lives of "sin"" and "couldn't have a child together" and even though they had 3 kids each(!) coming into the marriage, decided to adopt 4 Hatian infants within like one year of each other. Oh and they're also the people who just wouldn't shut up about how children can be taught to work from a very early age (not disputing this in thoery, but the way they went about it was just creepy). I am just plain worried about those little boys. Did you know they live like right around the ex(it went bankrupt)-headquarters of the American Nazi Party???????

Would have thought otherwise w/ the transracial group, but that's what it seemed like.

The haircare group is actually pretty good, although (and this is just me talking-so take it ALL w/ a grain of salt) the limited scope of conversation (really keeps to hair only) tends to stunt possibilities for discussion and understanding in other areas-which could be really beneficial to all.

The Adoptive Parents China group lags like waaaay behind any of these groups even, and is definitely the kind of sounding board for stupid people of all types. There have been *heated* discussions as to whether Asian-American culture even exists on this board, and I have seen soooo many people's introductions start out with "After 5 rounds of invitro in 3 years, the DH (dear husband) and I started looking into adoption." Ugh.

There are many reasons that people seek international adoption, and there are many reasons that people seek out China. The adoption process is a wild and crazy rollercoaster ride, and many people admittedly look to China because it is so regimented. Also, especially in the beginning, there was the popular idea that if girls aren't adopted, they'll be killed, and that "they throw girls away over there". Also in the mix is the idea that, if you adopt internationally, and from China especially, where so many children are found in public places without identifying information, you will never have to deal with "the birthparent problem".

If you read (last?) Sunday's NY Times article, there is the quote about "African-American women coming and asking for their children back" I mean, what a crock of shit first of all. Very few children are "repo-ed" in the USA or elsewhere. Secondly, it has been shown that children who have any degree of openness and information about their birthparents grow up much much more well-adjusted. There is no wondering who/where/what/why/and even sometimes WHEN (many Chinese children aren't aware of their true birthdate, even). Open adoptions are generally best for all involved, ESP the children, who need desperately to know the connection that "everybody else" seems to have. Also, knowing the birhtparents can prevent a lot of hard feelings toward adoptive parents later in life.

Many people choose China because they are worried about corruption in other places (esp Africa and private adoptions in the USA), or indeed because of the model minority stereotype that Asian children in general are subject to. Funny thing is that:

a) China is also kind of corrupt-the laws generally make it so. International adoptions usually only take place with orphanages that have money anyway, and the orphanages without any money, those who could desperately use the 3000 that American parents are required to pay in cash to the orphanage, are never seen. And, because of regulations (I'm sure probably well-intentioned), children cannot be transferred between orphanages--so the poor orphanages can't export their children to the larger ones. In addition, by the time children are adopted, many have already died. Many kids come to Chinese orphanages within weeks or even days of being born. Many of these children then die of preventable conditions related more to the availability of a sole caretaker, and not from disease and/or malnourishment (The aiyis work hard, but usually the is just not enough attention that can be given! Think about how long it takes for human babies to become capable of physical self-defense--YEARS! Humans are born one at a time, I surmise, so that they can have one-on-one protection and care!), and yet the average age of Chinese children adopted internationall is about 10-12 months old.
That system, while easy for Americans to deal with, is by no means perfect (it may not even be the best! LOL).

b) Regarding the model minority stereotype, if we had two brain cells to rub together, we would realize that kids are kids. They're not generally clean, obedient, studius, or respectful unless YOU teach them to be (and even then! Look at my brother!). And funny thing--adopted children who appear "perfect," generally appear so bc of clinically-diagnosable problems, generally relating to FEAR. Stories from adoptees are rife with the idea that they had to be perfect, lest they be "sent back" and abandoned yet again by their parents. And those adoptive parents who just look on at their Asian child, reveling in their wisdom re: adopting a "model minority"? They are generally only making the problem worse. Much worse. What a shitty self-fulfilling prophecy.

With all that said, I do think that there are other, more palateable reasons that people adopt from China. Some people are of Chinese ethnic heritage, or grew up in China, or speak Chinese, or have an overwhelming love for Chinese culture that they do not feel about other cultures. And while I would discourage parents to think or even look for "inherently Chinese" traits in their child, I do believe, as I was told once, that an adoptive parent must first love the birth culture of their child, so that they may keep it alive without any resistance, and so that they can make the child's birth and birth culture a source of family bonding, instead of an alientating force in the child's life.

For me, I insist on being well-versed in the culture and preferably language of my child's birth culture. That means that adopting from China (though it is important to note that not all children adopted from China are ethnically Chinese!) is a much more pragmatic situation. I can rest assured that my child will go to college, and instead of blushing and stammering when inquired about language ability by other ethnically-Chinese students, they will say "Yep (or WO YIDING HUI!)". That feels good (not that it is right-but it is something that I've heard a lot about from adult adoptees).

Related to this is my spouse. Should I decide to parent children with a man of X heritage, I would be willing and eager to adopt a child of X heritage (I don't know of any heritage that I do not want to learn about or do not think I could love). Should that heritage involve speaking a language I currently do not speak, then I will insist on learning the language along with if not before I adopt my child (this does not mean that I won't teach them the other languages I know, though-only in addition to). Should I go it alone, I will decide then.

Regarding "rainbow families", I don't see a problem with them in and of themselves. I think that they are often created for WAY wrong reasons, and without adequate knowledge of how to support the child's birth culture, or even issues that the parent themselves may have regarding the country/ethnicity/race of the child. I think it requires more planning, thinking, etc.

Celebrities? Celebrities on the whole these days want to make me vomit. Not that they didn't in the past (I don't know, I wasn't around or paying attention then), but the "causes" which they seem to fleetingly espouse are getting more and more serious. Something like global warming or recycling? Fine. Doesn't hurt us to eat organic food or nix the meat. But dogs (referring to the Taco Bell chihuahua thing-that really upset me)? And now children? I mean, I thought it was stupid enough when the celebs all went out producing biological children in such a suspiciously short time frame. And now the adoptive thing starts. Ugh.

You know, it wouldn't even be so bad if the people espousing it were serious, committed a-parents who just happened to be actors/actresses. But they're not. They're serious and committed--but I believe its to their stardom, first and foremost. I am not accusing anyone of reproducing/adopting solely for career purposes (okay, I *would* be accusing them, but I don't care to do enough research to found the accusation on anything), but I AM accusing them of using a "fortuitiously" timed adoption/birth to aid their careers. And I'm not sure I can forgive that.

Does that mean that I think adoption shouldn't get more attention? No. I think it is way underplayed, undervalued, and overly singled out as being "against the norm". Does that mean that I think stars shouldn't adopt? No, although I would be wary of them trying to raise any children at all, in light of their demanding lifestyle, and perhaps moreso, as adopted children, especially transracially adopted children, need more understanding, time, and energy than might the "average" biologically related child.

My biggest concern is the superficiality with which the whole situation is being handled. Indeed, if Jessical Simpleton or Queen Latifah really wants to adopt a child, then by all means, do so. Do it only after considerable contemplation of what having a child, and especially caring for an adopted child, might mean in your life. Do so quietly. Do so sincerely. And do so realizing that this is for life. Not just the rest of your life, but the rest of theirs.