Natalie Bull

Mr. Hosler

AP English 11

22 March 2019

Adopting Transracially

Adoption is the practice of legally transferring care and guardianship of a child from his

or her biological parents to an adoptive parent or parents (Adoption). Globally, international

adoption rates have declined sharply in recent years. Analysts believe the drop is due to various

factors; some source countries have turned their focus from international to domestic adoption,

while others have restricted or overturned laws that allow their citizens to be adopted by parents

in other countries. These restrictions have largely resulted from corruption and cases of neglect,

abandonment, and abuse of adopted children.

Adoption is a difficult subject as many children are in need homes. The number of

parents looking to adopt doesn’t compare to the number of children in need. With this in mind,

we have reason to make adoption an easier and more appealing process. This can be done by

making it available to more people so children can be taken care of and receive nurture.

That might not be in the best interest of the child. The child’s well-being is at stake when

put into a family that is not ready to take on the child in every extent. Affection and care are the

main need when providing for a child, but developing children need many things to support a

healthy life. Developing a well-rounded identity is an important step in reaching the child's full

potential.
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Opening the doors to make sure many children are adopted can be a bad thing when the

parents are not informed or educated on what the child needs. What’s in the ‘best interest’ of the

child changes depending on who you’re asking. Ethiopia has taken matters into their own hands

by stopping cross border adoptions completely, after being the second largest exporter of

children to the U.S. of 1,727 adopters in 2011. This has steeply dropped to 313 in 2017, as seen

in the image below (Incoming). From 2005 to 2015 the percent of adoptions from across the

border has dropped 72% (Montgomery). With so many children in need of homes, why would

Ethiopia cut off foreign parents from nurturing their children?

Their

reasoning, foreign

parents in the United

States didn’t fit what

was in the best interest

of their children. They

claim it is best to keep

them in their own

country. The abuse

rate of foreign parent

is 0.03 percent, 25

times lower than Ethiopia’s rate (Montgomery). They are using a straw man by taking the rare

occurrences when the child is not formally taken care of to argue that the borders should be

closed all together. This evidence alone is not strong enough to make such a drastic decision.
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Now that these borders are closed, the children are forced to face the consequence of this

action. Preventing abusive parents and a traumatic childhood is important, but not as important

as losing the majority of safe and nurturing potential families. Precautions should be put in place

to fix the problems there currently are, completely closing the borders is extreme. Instead,

potential abuse and neglect cases should be addressed.

Cross border adoption has become a political issue for multiple countries. These

countries feel embarrassment that their children need the help of foreign parents. They’d rather

have dignity by keeping children they can’t afford, then show the weakness that they can't take

care of their own children.

In addition, being the number one cross border child exporter sheds a dark light on these

countries. “Our image as being the number one exporter of children has changed,” as well as

“Guatemala has dignity” (Montgomery). Their pride is damaged when having to call on others to

take care of their own. In 2012, Russian president Vladimir Putin banned Russian children from

being adopted by American parents during a period of strained diplomatic interactions between

the two countries (Adoption). Political matters can handicap its citizens when taken far enough.

Regulations, rather than encourage foreign adoption, prevent many countries from giving

their children the opportunities other countries receive. The Hague Convention on International

Adoption was supposed to resolve problems by making adoption safer (Montgomery). Instead,

these regulations have caused poor countries to struggle just meeting the high international

standards. These regulations have made adoptions more expensive by imposing fees on agencies,

which may have increased as much as 18 percent in some countries. Many experts argue that the

convention has contributed to their decline. Rules are placed to ensure the highest well-being for

said child. In order to believe the child is truly safe where they are strict rules are created. This is
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drastically affects the number of children being adopted each day. Challenges arise when our

good intentions are hurting the overall population.

The Indian Child welfare act is a law requiring native American children who go into

foster care system to be placed with relatives or native American families (McCarthy). Outcomes

of this include Native American children being placed in home environments with people they

can identify with. They have a place to be like those around them and find themselves in others.

As a result of this, Native American children are placed in the foster care system at a

disproportionate rate. Native American children are removed from their families and placed in

state foster care at a rate 2.5 times greater than their presence in the general population

(McCarthy). Children with this background are treated differently than the rest in the system.

Many families are not of this background, so they will miss an influx of opportunities. Though

surrounding children will also miss out on a potential family because a specific culture gets first

choice.

Even with children being specially placed in these families, there is always a chance they

will grow up without a culture. Families that are of Native American culture are more likely to

get accepted to home children and make it past these regulations as there is a larger need for

these types of families. With it being scarce there is reason for the system to become more

lenient. With leniency comes mistakes, these children may get the opposite of a culturally rich

experience if said parents are not qualified and can’t give the child the required nurture they need

to thrive overall.

When adopting a child from another race, it’s important that families understand that they

are going to put themselves outside of their comfort zone. They should understand what the

experience is going to be for the child, otherwise the child will be neglected (Claiborne). For a
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family to ignore the overall effects placed on their child’s mental health is just as bad as ignoring

them. Families need to become educated and familiar on the culture to give a sense of self to the

child. The child and their culture should not change to what the parent is comfortable with or

used to. They have decided to take on the responsibility of a child of a different race. In result

they should put in the time and effort required.

Removing children from their birth culture can be compared to tearing a child away from

everything it’s ever known. This traumatic event dramatically alters their life. The identity of the

child is washed away as they become someone else. Children instinctively know from an early

age that they are different from their peers (Claiborne). They are cut off from their own racial

identity and culture, receiving strong representations of other popular culture other than their

own. Without an understanding of who they are, mental health can quickly deteriorate.

Popular culture affects everyone. It is known that we as humans strive to be like our peers

and ‘fit in’. Differences are scary and can unintentionally result in negativity. This culture plays

a role in what the world deems as the standard. With children looking up to these idols as a role

model, diversity needs to be more prevalent. Children of all identities crave for someone they

can relate to and identify with. All people alike want to be with those who understand what they

are going through.

When a child is brought into this completely new and different environment, the first

thing they are expected to do is to blend in and adapt. Parents often are not okay with things that

are different because things that are different are difficult. Things that are different are unknown

and uncommon. The discomfort of parents can speed up the process at which a child has to

adjust and has been forced to repress their past identity. When looking to adopt children of a
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different race, parents believe that it will be an enriching experience, but parent’s must not forget

that it is their job to help their child form an identity (Claiborne).

Children should be surrounded with their identifying culture. They should be surrounded

with people who understand what they are going through, and who understand their culture. A

way of connecting with people sharing the child’s race would be through friendships, moving to

integrated neighborhoods, sending their child to an integrated school, and adopting more than

one child of a similar race (Krueger), as seen in the image (International). It is important to

continue informing a child of their culture and push to keep it prevalent in their life.

The gratitude complex is the burden

were a child recieves family but feels

disconnected from the world outside

(Claiborne). Children are appreciative of getting

what they wanted and needed, so they feel that

they shouldn’t be selfish and asking for more

when they’ve already received so much. The

child feels that they have gained so much that

they’d be asking for too much by continuing.

This results in the child internalizing questions

and never feeling resolved or fulfilled.

In the video, “Chinese on the Inside”, a

family has adopted two children of Chinese

culture and race. In order to keep their children still informed and involved in the culture, the

parents surround the children with Chinese activities, food, and sports. These sisters are adopted
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by a white couple and have been brought back to America. The parent’s felt that it was their

responsibility to show respect to their children and where they came from (Chinese).

The couples main fear is that they don’t know enough about the culture to spread to their

children. These children have the option to keep their learning of the culture to a minimum, but

they are still proud within to know where they came from.

The severe difference in cultures throughout the world can affect the well-being of a

child. All cultures vary in differences though switching from one to another can be very

overwhelming and traumatic for anyone. The element of being unfamiliar with everything

around can be tough. The chore of relearning language, culture, morals, and standards of said

culture takes a lot of work.

One of many cultures that a child could be exposed to is an American culture. Typical

American culture is seen in the story “An American Childhood” by Annie Dillard (Dillard). The

story shows the common hobbies of stereotypical American children. These culturally different

children feel out of touch with their peers around them.

A boy who can relate to this feeling is Phil Bertelsen (Claiborne). He was black child

adopted by white parents. He lived through his childhood internalizing questions and repressing

his thoughts. His parents were naïve to the mental pain they were placing on their son by not

giving him the cultural freedom to learn his roots. Their son felt that he wasn’t seen or

understood when being raised in a mostly white New Jersey suburb. He claims to wear his name

with pride, but he wants his parents to understand that he is also an African-American, and they

must see him as that. He wants others to learn from his parents mistake, by putting a blanket over

the truth it only does more damage than help.

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The key is to make racial diversity a good thing by ensuring everyone feels comfortable

talking about race and having an understanding of possible issues before they arise (Kruger).

Having an open conversation with a child from the second they are adopted is the smartest step

in creating trust and a bond. Spreading birth culture to a child will not negatively affect them.

Keeping this information hidden from them is what will bring negativity. This secrecy sends

unintentional messages of disgust towards that part of them. When parents aren’t clear or verbal

with children, they may be saying something unintentional via body language. When a child

believes that someone doesn’t like a part of themselves they can’t change, they are emotionally

affected. This may result in becoming ashamed of who they are and belief that it should remain

hidden. They may attempt to completely bury a part of themselves, only to disguise it with what

others what them to be or what they wish to be.

With an open perception to cultural differences between a parent a child, a culturally

strong experience can result. When the family chooses to embrace the child’s diversity and take

advantage of opportunities which expand cultural horizons, transcultural adoption is a positive

fulfilling journey of knowledge and love. Although there may be many negatives behind

adoption, it isn’t a bad thing. We shouldn’t stop transracial adoption; we should start informing

those considering adopting more on the subject. It’s not easy to adopt a child that is of a different

race, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t impossible or should be stopped. By both restricting and

loosening preexisting regulations where it is needed, adoption can become an easier and more

successful process.
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Works Cited

"Adoption." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2018. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999169/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=99389e41. Accessed 19 Mar. 2019.

"Chinese, on the Inside." NYTimes.com Video Collection, 3 Mar. 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CT361293689/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=f44f95d9. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Claiborne, Ron, and Hanna Siegel. "Transracial Adoptions Can Present Challenges for Adopted

Children." Multiracial America, edited by Noah Berlatsky and Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven

Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010884224/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=e4ed1612. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019. Originally

published as "Transracial Adoption Can Provide a Loving Family and an Identity

Struggle,", 3 Mar. 2010.

Dillard, Annie. "An American Childhood." The Norton Reader, edited by Linda H. Peterson and

John C. Brereton, Twelfth ed., 2008, pp. 132-37.

"Incoming Intercountry Adoptions to the United States, by Country of Origin, 2017." Gale

Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Gale, 2018. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/XLXBHB549398999/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=6f090b3e. Accessed 11 Mar. 2019.

"International Adoption." Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Gale, 2007. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ2210079067/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=ad23ca49. Accessed 11 Mar. 2019.

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Krueger, Angela. "International Adoptions Break Down Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes."

International Adoptions, edited by Margaret Haerens, Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing

Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010681216/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=c4f893a3. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019. Originally

published as "Pros and Cons of Transracial Adoption," Suite101.com, 10 May 2009.

McCarthy, Simone. "Should native American families have precedence in foster placement?"

Christian Science Monitor, 10 June 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A454776799/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=5e82f6ee. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Montgomery, Mark, and Irene Powell. "International adoptions have dropped 72 percent since

2005 – here’s why." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/YOVPCI411820618/OVIC?

u=lom_accessmich&sid=OVIC&xid=1648ea62. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019. Originally

published as "International adoptions have dropped 72 percent since 2005 – here’s why,"

The Conversation, 28 Feb. 2018.