In The Leavers we follow Deming into the relationship he has with his white adoptive parents who don’t know his mothers language and don’t make an effort to keep him connected with anyone of his friends before his adoption. Transracial adoptees struggle with knowing their background and history because it is different than that of their adoptive parents. “Race and identity were the central issues that emerged in the life history interviews I conducted with twenty-two transracial adoptees” (Patton 2). The concern of transracial adoption is that the white parents will not be able to understand and help the non-white child through the racism that occurs along with not being able to share their culture with them.
International adoption started in 1955, Chinese international adoption it didn’t start until 1992. Most of the children were put up for adoption because of Chinas one-child policy which only ended in 2015, this created a place where parents didn’t want to give up their child but were forced to. In America there has been a large anti-Asian sentiment (Choy 4), creating a place where Asian children have struggles unknown to their parents. For the children adopted by parents of a different ethnicity this makes them not part of the white community because they aren’t white and are surrounded by predominantly white people/norms but also makes it harder for them to fit in with other children of their birth culture because they don’t grow up with parents teaching them about their culture or important parts of their ancestors past.
Interracial/international adoption by white parents is seen sometimes as the white parents having a “savior” complex, or that they’re colorblind. This is damaging because it is good to see our differences and good to interact with the childs culture instead of ignoring it. This is shown in The Leavers by the Wilkinsons changing Demings name after he has grown up identifying with it and in turn stripping his culture that he grew up with from him. “The displacement of birth creates a heady confusion regarding how to map these different forms of collectivity onto socially legible constructions of person- hood” (Jerng x). Deming has to change his identity when he loses his mother, friends, and his name and is forced to leave his culture behind.
Work cited:
Patton, Sandra Lee. Birthmarks : Transracial Adoption in Contemporary America. New York University Press, 2000.https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/chapter/166412. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.
Jerng, Mark C. Claiming Others : Transracial Adoption and National Belonging. University of Minnesota Press, 2010.https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/chapter/902447. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.
Choy, Catherine Ceniza. Global Families: a History of Asian International Adoption in America. New York Univ. Press, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MuYTCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=white+savior+complex+in+adoption&ots=sNEmk7cEo-&sig=ISZoNf6Pb2jmAMz9x26zqaZoZ0M#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Great post, Paige! Like The Leavers, your post showcased the potential harm that can be caused by interracial adoption. I think it’s great that parents want to adopt a child to give them a good home, but they also need to recognize the child’s culture. It can already be difficult for the child to form their identity because of the adoption, and things like changing their name make it even harder.
Thank you for this great post! I appreciate how you shared some information about the history of international adoption and explored some of its effects. I think that it is certainly possible for parents adopting a child of another race to create a loving, caring home, but great care must be made to avoid the “white savior” complex. I agree that the Wilkinson’s are an example of this complex: while they care for Deming and want the best for him, they strip away his culture and (perhaps unknowingly) create major struggles regarding his sense of identity.
Well done on this post. I like how this was a well rounded post that took different challenges and combined them to give me a better understanding of international adoption. Before reading this, I had never really considered how an adopted child may find it hard to fit in with others of the same birth culture on top of fitting in with people of different cultures. Knowing that your birth culture is something you might have little experience with must be challenging when trying to find your identity, especially if you have to deal with the “savior” complex in your upbringing.
Thank you for this information and the history throughout it; within the passage, I feel like history is a very important factor through the novel because it allows an individual to go more in-depth into what they learn and how they see the world throughout their lives. Depending on what race and ethnicity the adopted child is, would make it difficult for them to live a “normal” life within the society that they are surrounded by. The way I see it makes a very complex and tricky ideology and understanding within the field of adoption because in the past so many rules were in play that it created a permanent imagery within society that makes it hard to change.
International adoptions are definitely different and can be complicated. As I can attest my parents tried so hard to alllow me to keep my russian herritage and culture ways, but it was hard when they were trying to teach me all of the family and the “American” ways of life. It is hard for the adoptive family to adjust but they don’t realize that it is even harder for the child. Not only are we adjusting to a new way of life, but in doing so we lose ourselves and that is a struggle that a kid does not know how to overcome easily.
Great post Paige. The topic you presented is actually something that I have not really pondered too much on but the way you analyzed it was excellent. The obstacles presented by interracial adoption can have a profound effect on the development of the child and should not be overlooked when trying to adopt a child that is from a different country and culture.
Good post Paige, your sources helped me understand what effects transracial adoption can have on the children that are being adopted. When it comes to the savior complex, I think the Wilkinson’s are a great example of the complex, mainly due to the parents changing Deming’s name to Daniel, especially when he was 11 when the parents decided to make the name change. By changing his name, it removes what little culture Deming had from his biological parents and likely made him confused about what his full identity is as a consequence of their actions.
Thank you so much for the informative post! It is super interesting to see the negative effects of interracial adoption displayed in The Leavers. Deming had to go through a rough time adapting because his adopted parents were so different than his culture and what he had been used to. Children in the orphanage system are faced with a tough challenge, but they are much more likely ultimately secure food and a stable house by being adopted. Sadly these kids lose a lot of their own culture being put into their new family in the process. Thank you again for the great presentation!