KAAN Connect 2020
As many of you know, I serve on the Advisory Council for the Korean American Adoptee and Adoptive Family Network (KAAN). Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve had to […]
Tag Archives: transracial adoption
Myka Stauffer: An Adoption Fantasy Unraveled
If you felt uncomfortable or outraged reading about the Myka Stauffer adoption case, here’s why: The unique factor about Myka Stauffer is the culmination of almost every adoption trope and controversial practice that there is no room left to say what they, as adoptive parents, did well. This case is about Huxley and the Stauffer family, but it is also about the public’s desperation to believe in the fantasy of adoption and anger at being shown the truth of what can, and often does, go wrong.
LGBT Folks and Adoptees: Building Coalition Across Community
This piece analyzes the ways in which the adoptee and LGBT communities are similar and advocates for their combined power in coalition to advance justice and liberation of these groups in addition to other marginalized communities.
An Adoptive Mom to Adoptees: I’m Sorry
This is an open letter to any adoptees who have a fragmented or tenuous relationship with their adoptive mothers. “Today, I want to make that apology to any adoptees who are out there and grieving a fragmented relationship with your adoptive parents, recognizing that I am a part of this group that has caused hurt for so many adoptees. I know that what you may really wish for is an apology from your parent(s), not from a stranger. I hope that you will get that someday. For now, I want to tell you…”
Global Deinstitutionalization of Children
She was two years old when her mother placed her in an orphanage in South Korea. Her mother’s intentions were not to relinquish parental rights, but simply to keep her […]
When Important People Are Temporary
Wanting to share my graduate school acceptances and decisions with the people who have been most supportive of my continued educational goals, I opened my text messages and typed in […]
On Gratitude and Adoption
I met up with a friend recently for a morning tea before work. Though we had seen each other frequently, they had all been rather quick passings that hadn’t allowed […]
Interview with Midwest Mixed
I was recently asked to do an interview with Midwest Mixed, a group that focuses on programming for mixed race people and their families in the Twin Cities area. I have […]
I was Not Touched by Adoption and Other Final NAAM Thoughts
Some of you have probably seen this optional Facebook profile picture template used by people in your personal networks to promote November as National Adoption Month and National Adoption Awareness […]
The Nine People You Meet on a Cruise
Unlike the five people you meet in heaven, the nine people you meet on a cruise are people you don’t want to meet. A couple of months ago, I went […]
