I
thought all the presentations were great, and they further developed our
understanding of the breath of ethical issues in adoption. The topic of
parents’ mental health state added a new dimension to adoption ethics that we
have not talked about. Some presentations took conflicting sides, such as
closed or open adoption. I thought it was great to see the different
perspectives, and I respect each point. I enjoyed hearing Michael’s
presentation about how adoption is generally an oppressive act. I thought it
sounded harsh at first, but I can see his point after his presentation. In the
Iris Young reading, powerless is one of the five faces of oppression. Adoption
does put the adoptee at a powerless state. They do not have a say whether or
not they want to stay with their birth families, whether or not they want to be
adopted or who they get to be adopted by. To say that adoption is bad is wrong,
but I do believe it does bestow a sense of powerlessness on the adoptee.
However, the powerlessness is inevitable. It is part the situation in which the
adoptee is in.
Powerless
seemed to be a major ethical issue in adoption because it was brought up in
many presentation. For example, the presentation on open versus closed adoption
included this form of oppression as an ethical issue. Another presentation
topic that included powerless was transracial adoption. Transracial adoption is
such a big category. I liked how the students who covered it had different
aspects.
Overall,
the presentations really showed me that adoption is a very ethical issue. Prior
to the class, I did not realize or think about adoption as being a heated
topic. From our class readings and class discussion, I have been enlighten to
see all the areas within adoption that are controversial. I have also realized
that there are so many sides to every ethical issue, and the criteria used to
judge the ethical aspects are different in every scenario.
Graded Reply 12
ReplyDeleteHello Jill,
I really enjoyed your blog post. I agree that the presentations were fantastic! The mental health presentation was interesting because it was a topic that I have never really thought about. It is interesting that so many different topics can intersect with adoption because it is surprisingly such a broad topic that effects so many people. I also thought that Michael’s presentation was also interesting. I think that his angle really made me think about adoption in a totally different way. It also helped me realize how many other people are oppressed on a daily basis. Oppression is such a serious issue that is so often overlooked.
Powerless is a huge issue in adoption. It is crazy to think that adoption is centered around the powerlessness of children. I do agree that it is just part of the situation the adoptee is in. I’m not sure if there will ever be a way to avoid adoptee powerlessness because usually one person is in power and the other person isn’t.
I also agree with your last paragraph. Adoption is such an ethical issue and I never imagined that. Before this class I never even knew that adoption was such an ethical issue. In the United States, I felt that adoption is always painted in such a positive light. However, this class and the student presentations have shown different angles which I think is fantastic. This helps us learn and grow as individuals by engaging our critical thinking skills and forming opinions by ourselves.
Thanks Jill!
Amanda O.
Graded Reply 8:
ReplyDeleteJill,
Very nice job with this final post. Along with Amanda, I also agree with your last paragraph. Going into the class, I was very interested in adopting some day and I thought that taking this class would help me learn more about it and strengthen that desire. I knew that it was somewhat of a touchy subject, but I didn't realize how heated it really can be. At this point, I still am very interested in adopting, but there are many new things that were introduced during class that will be in the back of my mind now. My opinions about adoption are not nearly as black and white as they were before coming into the class but I also do think it is important to know these different perspectives when looking into adoption.
Overall, it has been a very informative class and it is clear from hearing each student's presentations, everyone has learned quite a bit.