Description
A provocative critique of transnational, trans-racial adoption from a critical race and feminist perspective and a vision for reform
About the Author
Kristi Brian teaches in the Women and Gender Studies Program and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the College of Charleston.
Reviews
"Kristi Brian bravely shines a spotlight on the racial inequities that undergird transnational adoptions but are typically whitewashed by assumptions of adoptive parents' benevolence and colorblindness. Reframing Transracial Adoption proposes a more culturally inclusive, child-centered paradigm focused on the voices of Korean adoptees rather than the personal preferences of white adopters, who sometimes select children on the basis of racialized criteria and then refuse to take their racial identities seriously. A critical contribution to an honest discussion of the role race plays in adoption and, indeed, in all family structures." - Dorothy Roberts, Kirkland & Ellis Professor, Northwestern University School of Law, and author of Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare "[C]ompelling... Brian effectively analyzes the inherently political act of family building... Brian's critical race feminist methodology, and her explanation of the matters of adoption and the ways in which adoption matters are useful and often insightful... There is much to be applauded in a political analysis of a phenomenon such as Korean-American adoption and Kristi Brian's Reframing Transracial Adoption succeeds admirably in this regard." Anthropological Quarterly, Fall 2012 "Brian demonstrates an exceptional understanding of the problems affecting Korean adoption...her work is noteworthy for its effort to document racism within adoptive families... Reframing Transracial Adoption is at once a scholarly study and a work of adoption reform activism. Brian highlights structural problems in the transnational adoption industry and shows how adult Korean adoptees are working to change it. In addition, she makes a strong argument against the commonly held idea that transracial adoption is a cure for racism because it creates multiracial families. She instead shows how the adoption industry depends on white privilege and the geopolitical dominance of the United States."--Signs: Journal of Women and Culture in Society, Winter 2014 "Brian exhibits a strong conversant history and literature on race and adoption... She is particularly good at critiquing transracial adoption by celebrity... she raises the intriguing issue of how adoptees themselves are now changing the processes of adoption... Brian's book provides an excellent critique of the hidden racism in American adoptions." - Contemporary Sociology, May 2014
Book Information
ISBN 9781439901847
Author Kristi Brian
Format Paperback
Page Count 230
Imprint Temple University Press,U.S.
Publisher Temple University Press,U.S.
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 20mm