Blog post #8

1)   I am thinking about writing about the ethical issue of transracial adoption for my final research project. This is an interesting topic because we’ve heard many perspectives of transracial adoption in class. Adam Pertman believes that transracial adoption is a good thing, while Kim Park Nelson paints a bleak image of transracial adoption. The book that I read for my book report took a negative approach on transracial adoption. The book raised some good points about the downfalls of transracial adoption which inspired me to search for the benefits and positive aspects of transracial adoption. Negative viewpoints on transracial adoption that I’ve read about thus far include that it results in identity confusion for the adoptee, that it’s “cultural genocide,” that it’s a selfish act of American adoptive parents who are looking to culturally enhance their families, that white parents aren’t equipped with the knowledge and experience to raise a child of a different race, etc. I hope to find more research to counter these arguments.

2)   There are many ethical concepts that are relevant to this topic. The five faces of oppression can be used to describe the power of white adoptive parents and the powerlessness of adoptees. Cultural imperialism also can be incorporated to describe transracial adoption. I also plan to include the “Best Interest Standard” to show that transracial adoption is beneficial to the adoptee because he/she will be raised in a healthy and safe environment and will receive guidance necessary to develop in to a self-sufficient adult. I will also use the guidelines of the Hague Convention to show that transracial adoption is beneficial if those rights are obeyed.

3)   I’m thinking about using the book “Beyond Good Intentions” to show the counter arguments of my thesis and build off of that. I also plan to use Adam Pertman’s book, as well as the book “Outsiders Within: Writings on Transracial Adoption” to find support of transracial adoption.

4)   On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate myself as a 9 in terms of how likely I am to write about this.

5)   I would like some more suggestions to counter-argue the statement that white adoptive parents transracially adopt for their own personal reasons to culturally enrich their families. I would also like suggestions on more resources about the benefits and positive aspects of transracial adoption.