Solinger’s text caught my attention when
a letter from a struggling Midwestern woman was shared to describe the identity of birthmothers. The specific line from the letter that struck
me was “..but we ARE mothers” (Solinger 105).
This line opens up a gateway for debate around the natural and authentic.
In Solinger’s text, the line is used to describe birthmothers as being
actual mothers instead of not being a mother at all. This argument then falls under the category of
the authentic vs non-authentic mother. The
definition of an “Authentic Mother”, however, could be debated for centuries to
come, but Solinger suggests eliminating the term and be replaced with the word birth. By
using birthparent, Solinger creates a more concrete definition which eludes the
ugly authentic and natural argument.
Through the use of birthparent, we
see a shift in the emotions felt towards adoption. Prior to 1976, and the founding of CUB, the
term adoption had more connotation with the term taken rather than given. The term gives the birthmother an actual role in the child's lifel. The turn from adoption’s limited to limitless
choices is reinforced when Lee Campbell contemplates going on television to discuss her difficult choices. “She worried about the impact on her two
little boys at home whom she had not yet told about her first son, lost to
adoption”, (Solinger, 106). It was a forced and limited
choice that she literally had no voice in and she felt that her son was taken. Today, I believe the shift of choices has turned and
woman are discovering more ways and opportunities to keep their children.On page 109, Solinger describes the process of humanizing adoption. This reflects on the ignorance many people had towards the feelings and concerns of the birthparent. It seems that more unwed or pregnant women during the years from 1976 to present received more support than prior decades. Women have become more empowered and are starting to form groups that address the issues they face in adoption. With more groups surfacing, we begin to see the shift from embarrassed birthmothers who feel they need to “hide in the closet” to birthmothers who want to move towards open records. These groups began to establish the rights of the birthmothers to look for their children. This becomes a social issue, however, whether they have the right to communicate with the child or not. “We were determined to someday hold up our heads for giving life. WE could protect ourselves, thank you very much. We could accept or decline our child’s invitation to be in our lives in the same way we could accept or decline anyone’s invitation” (Solinger, 122). This gave women the “choice”.
-Brandon Kasper
