“It’s not where you come from. It’s where you belong. Nothin’ I would trade. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re surrounded by love and you’re wanted. So never feel alone. You are home with me right where you belong” (The Fosters Theme Song). The Fosters was a television show in the 2010s that centered around a lesbian couple, of White and biracial skin tones, that worked in the police force and school system, which led to their desire to bring in foster children. At the beginning of the show, they explain their adoption of Latino twins at a young age and the relationship where one mother has her own White birth son, but now they begin to foster a teenage girl and her younger brother, both White. Throughout the series, these mothers work to defend their children, all of them, as the claim there is no difference between adopted and birth children. However, this family is faced with adversity in many aspects.
As we saw in The Leavers, foster children often face an identity crisis of not understanding who they are. Because the fostered children in this show can never feel safe, like if they make one wrong move, they will be kicked out, they struggle to express who they truly are. Callie and Jude, the fostered children, struggle to voice their opinions and come out as gay because they fear the consequences they have faced in other families before. As discussed in class, this is not uncommon amongst foster children. Furthermore, Brandon is the only biological child of Steph, and the adopted or fostered kids have moments where they feel that he is treated differently than them. In this scenario, a One and Other relationship forms similar to what de Beauvoir described because the other children understand their situation based on his situation and this leads to that crisis identity of understanding themselves. The One and Other relationship can also be seen in regard to a stepparent versus birth parent. As both parents are in Brandon’s life, Lena often feels left out of conversations even though she is the one helping to raise Brandon. She takes the role of Other because Brandon’s birth parents have displayed themselves as the One. Despite her efforts in raising him, her opinions are frowned upon because of her status, making her feel as though she is not really a part of his entire life.
The Fosters is a clear example of the struggle adopted and fostered kids face in understanding or finding their identity and the One and Other relationship discussed by de Beauvoir. Through this show, we can look at a multitude of aspects in our own lives to compare how we treat others and how this makes us feel. I personally learned a lot watching The Fosters and I know that other students would as well. As stated in the theme song, “it’s not where you come from. It’s where you belong” (The Fosters Theme Song). This is the motto of the family and a beautiful example of what our world needs.
Works Cited
“The Fosters Theme Song Lyrics.” Lyrics On Demand, www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/thefosterslyrics.html.
Gelman, Vlada. “Fosters EP on ‘Emotional’ Series Finale, Resolving ‘Brallie’ and Spinoff Plans.” TVLine, TVLine, 3 July 2018, tvline.com/2018/06/06/the-fosters-recap-series-finale-callie-mariana-spinoff-spoilers/.