The Anti-Antiadoption Discourse in “Response” to a New Expose

A researcher, or perhaps a journalist, Kathryn Boyce has recently written an expose, The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption (published 23 April 2013), on how evangelical Christians are preaching the new gospel of adoption. I haven’t read the book; I’m flagging it down here in case someone wants to. My […]

The orphanage as site of euthanasia.

I’d like to pick up on the discussion in the item “Adoption as House Arrest” [ link ] where we were discussing whether formerly children might have been “better off” in an orphanage. My adoptive father’s parents and uncles were brought up in orphanages in New York City, and I think this was a core […]

Adoption as “house arrest”.

There are three randomly connected ideas/facts that have come together for me in a rather disturbing way. First is a footnote from the conference paper I’m working on: As is often the single most common comment made when international adoption is discussed in online forums, the question arises: “Why not take care of American children […]

Domestic vs. International?

I have argued long and hard that there is little difference between domestic and international adoption, if we consider that often the class differential of domestic adoption is from an internal “Third World” of poverty and the exploitation of those from this realm. I have argued long and hard that if we shift to notions […]

History of adoption?

Does anyone know the history of transracial adoption, going back to before there were any laws? I’m wondering what historical examples there are, especially in ancient Asia. I’ve been thinking about Moses as a transracial adoption story, how terribly it worked out for his adoptive country. Also, how he needed a burning bush to give […]