was adopted vs. is adopted.
"Hi, I'm adopted."
"The woman was adopted."
Some literature talks about the "as if" thing, how birth parents are supposed to be symbolically dead (Lifton 1979). It's like "I am adopted" is an irreversible, "untreatable" condition. Whereas "was adopted" is just like a casual phase, an event, something that does not define the person. The adopted can be a person, but the person may be adopted. The label controls the core of the person; the adopted have no authority to challenge the label they were given.
Specifically, there was a woman who suddenly discovered that she actually was adopted. I'm sure the article (can't for the love of god find it anywhere) phrased it like this - she was adopted...but not anymore? - however, she is a person.
The opposite is true with adoptees. We are adopted. The present indicative tense is used to display facts, things that are true, things that are; it does not necessarily refute the fact that adoption was a temporal, liminal event, nor does it refute that adopted-ness is an eternal, non-temporal (duration is irrelevant!) condition. These are merely implications that have as much validity as they do inauthenticity. But it is not the adoptee who has jurisdiction over such arbitrary measures.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
craziest spur of the moment...
ok...filling out the birth family search application at G.O.A'L's website. Wish me luck!
shit...I don't remember what my blood type is...
...nor do I have my first baby photo on this computer....
shit...I don't remember what my blood type is...
...nor do I have my first baby photo on this computer....
I've had a very fortunate growing-up
When I see a Vietnam vet, he doesn't do anything to me.
When I see a Korean War vet, he tells me how dedicated "my people" were with a big smile.
I had Asian friends (friends of all colors) throughout school.
Oddly, most of the typical "Chinese eyes!" remarks came from other minorities.
I don't ever remember being discriminated against by whites.
When people ask, "where are you from?", DC is an answer that receives no further probing.
Only once has a Korean addressed me in Korean, then he immediately switched to English when I gave him a blank stare, and made nothing of it.
Adult Asians I've had contact with do not fuss over my adoptedness.
Friends in school never said anything about my adoptedness - it was as if it didn't even exist.
There are only a handful of race/identity things I remember from before college days, which I'll probably share sooner or later.
I think the depressing thing about this is when I read memoirs and stuff, I feel disconnected from them. It's a very selfish thing to say, that in a way I'm ashamed of my privilege. I can connect to adoptees in the most general sense...but I really haven't endured a lot of the hardships I read about. This is hugely biased though - I don't read much about the adoptees whose experiences match mine....ah, the publishing industry...
When I see a Korean War vet, he tells me how dedicated "my people" were with a big smile.
I had Asian friends (friends of all colors) throughout school.
Oddly, most of the typical "Chinese eyes!" remarks came from other minorities.
I don't ever remember being discriminated against by whites.
When people ask, "where are you from?", DC is an answer that receives no further probing.
Only once has a Korean addressed me in Korean, then he immediately switched to English when I gave him a blank stare, and made nothing of it.
Adult Asians I've had contact with do not fuss over my adoptedness.
Friends in school never said anything about my adoptedness - it was as if it didn't even exist.
There are only a handful of race/identity things I remember from before college days, which I'll probably share sooner or later.
I think the depressing thing about this is when I read memoirs and stuff, I feel disconnected from them. It's a very selfish thing to say, that in a way I'm ashamed of my privilege. I can connect to adoptees in the most general sense...but I really haven't endured a lot of the hardships I read about. This is hugely biased though - I don't read much about the adoptees whose experiences match mine....ah, the publishing industry...
bigger bibliography (smaller world?) [and more stuff]
Expanding on the literature base. I've had a bank account since 3rd grade, so it's large enough to withstand an onslaught of ebaying and amazoning. But...I wonder if grant money would cover books? But I'm too busy with other stuff for that.......
The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child, 1993
Seeds from a Silent Tree: An Anthology By Korean Adoptees, 1997
The Unforgotten War: Dust of the Streets, 1998
Voices from Another Place: A Collection of Works from a Generation Born in Korea and Adopted to Other Countries, 1999
After the Morning Calm, 2002
Single Square Picture, 2003
Twins Found in a Box, 2003
Language of Blood, 2006
Outsiders Within, 2006
Once They Hear My Name, 2008
Fugitive Visions, 2009
I'm buying "Primal Wound" to dig into the dominant discourse and yeah, you know. yadadadad.
I just remembered that Jae Ran posted some great info a while back:
About Jeannine Vance's "Twins Found in a Box"...I read the first 200 pages but due to midterm week the last 80 didn't take top priority. So far, I have mixed feelings about this book. I like it, I think the religious aspect is interesting and refreshing (from what I recall none of the other adoptee stuff is even remotely religious, correct me on that though), but I can only help but think that the book itself is only indirectly related to adoption. She writes that the time accounted in the book took place during her adjustment period, a coming of age kind of thing, though not a lot deals specifically with adoption-related thoughts. I guess what I'm saying is that...can we really assign causality to everything she says? Is all her family problems directly due to her being adopted? Actually when I think about her mom, the argument is strong, since it turned out that Mike was actually adopted too, but this complex problem I can't really sort out. But yeah, I still have 80 pages to read.
I'll definitely buy those poetry books, those should be interesting. I've been into poetry, not because I didn't like it though.
The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child, 1993
Seeds from a Silent Tree: An Anthology By Korean Adoptees, 1997
The Unforgotten War: Dust of the Streets, 1998
Voices from Another Place: A Collection of Works from a Generation Born in Korea and Adopted to Other Countries, 1999
After the Morning Calm, 2002
Single Square Picture, 2003
Twins Found in a Box, 2003
Language of Blood, 2006
Outsiders Within, 2006
Once They Hear My Name, 2008
Fugitive Visions, 2009
I'm buying "Primal Wound" to dig into the dominant discourse and yeah, you know. yadadadad.
I just remembered that Jae Ran posted some great info a while back:
There are a bunch of scholarly work out or soon to be published by Korean adoptees, Tobias Hubinette, Jini Roby, Kathleen Bergquist, Kim Park Nelson are a few that come to mind. ...I forgot some poetry that have Korean adoption as a central figure. Sun Yung Shin's Skirt Full of Black, Jennifer Kwon Dobbs Paper Pavillion and Lee Herrick's This Many Miles From Desire are three that come to mind.I had recently found out about Hubinette too. Discovering all these people and associating names with their work was really cool. I'm going back to Outsiders Within and looking at it, and I'm like "damn, this is stacked". Mei-ling Hopgood, who wrote "Lucky Girl", mentions she has an adopted Korean brother, who I'm guessing wrote a piece in After The Morning Calm (p. 109-112). I find these connections to be very cool.
About Jeannine Vance's "Twins Found in a Box"...I read the first 200 pages but due to midterm week the last 80 didn't take top priority. So far, I have mixed feelings about this book. I like it, I think the religious aspect is interesting and refreshing (from what I recall none of the other adoptee stuff is even remotely religious, correct me on that though), but I can only help but think that the book itself is only indirectly related to adoption. She writes that the time accounted in the book took place during her adjustment period, a coming of age kind of thing, though not a lot deals specifically with adoption-related thoughts. I guess what I'm saying is that...can we really assign causality to everything she says? Is all her family problems directly due to her being adopted? Actually when I think about her mom, the argument is strong, since it turned out that Mike was actually adopted too, but this complex problem I can't really sort out. But yeah, I still have 80 pages to read.
I'll definitely buy those poetry books, those should be interesting. I've been into poetry, not because I didn't like it though.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
hmmmm
Well I think I'm probably going to go along with that 'make-believe' dissertation, though it will be my undergrad thesis. I have to start getting a hold of the autobiographical literature soon - I'd say I have a good start on this already - then building contacts for interviews, then getting a hold of the historical and theoretical literature (this will be a pain, and quite expensive...), getting funding. There's a $2,500 grant my school gives that I'm pretty sure I can get, and then there's also funding from Korean organizations I've seen. Eleana Kim and Eun Kyung Min had it listed in articles, if I remember correctly. I was also thinking of asking Eleana Kim to be a thesis reader, that is, if my uni allows 'outsiders' to be on reading committees.
I'd have to formulate everything next semester, start reading, do most of the interviews this summer, and write it next year.
It sounds like this a book-length endeavor. It will be challenging - I don't know if I have to do "everything" per se, just for the thesis part, but I'd be looking towards publication. The larger issue is whether or not it's too early to write something like this. I'd basically be analyzing the history of a subfield of autobiographical literature, trying to make sense out of where it came from, why, how, and where it's going. I have no idea how long the editing process takes (for a book), so I guess a not so far-fetched speculative publishing date would be between winter 2011 and spring 2012. From what I've experienced though, I think the literature will start to shift from Koreans to Chinese girls. Some of the memoirs I've heard of are from adoptive parents, so we will hear from their children within 15 years perhaps...
I'd have to formulate everything next semester, start reading, do most of the interviews this summer, and write it next year.
It sounds like this a book-length endeavor. It will be challenging - I don't know if I have to do "everything" per se, just for the thesis part, but I'd be looking towards publication. The larger issue is whether or not it's too early to write something like this. I'd basically be analyzing the history of a subfield of autobiographical literature, trying to make sense out of where it came from, why, how, and where it's going. I have no idea how long the editing process takes (for a book), so I guess a not so far-fetched speculative publishing date would be between winter 2011 and spring 2012. From what I've experienced though, I think the literature will start to shift from Koreans to Chinese girls. Some of the memoirs I've heard of are from adoptive parents, so we will hear from their children within 15 years perhaps...
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tobias Hübinette, 1999
-- that was the citation from Wiki that had some good historical information. After some digging, I came upon this site:
On Adoption and Korea 1996-
Unpublished manuscripts
1999
Irland och Korea – en komparativ historisk studie [Ireland and Korea – a comparative
historical study], B.A.-thesis, Department of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University,
58 p.
Hopefully it's translated?
On Adoption and Korea 1996-
Unpublished manuscripts
1999
Irland och Korea – en komparativ historisk studie [Ireland and Korea – a comparative
historical study], B.A.-thesis, Department of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University,
58 p.
Hopefully it's translated?
1991!
from wiki:
One factor that helped making KADs visible in the South Korean discourse, was a 1991 film called Susanne Brink's Arirang, based upon the life and experiences of Susanne Brink, an adult KAD from Sweden who stated to have suffered abuse and racism in her adoptive home and country. After the movie she became a celebrity in South Korea, and many South Koreans started to feel shame and guilt for the children their country had sent out (Hübinette, 1999). Since then, South Korean media rather frequently reports on the issues regarding international adoption. Most KADs have taken on the citizenship of their adoptive country and no longer have Korean passports. Earlier they had to get a visa like any other foreigner if they wanted to visit or live in South Korea. This only added to the feeling that they were 'not really South Korean'. In May 1999, a group of KADs living in Korea started a signature-collection in order to achieve legal recognition and acceptance (Schuhmacher, 1999). At present (2009) the number of KADs long term residents in South Korea (mainly Seoul) is estimated at approximately 500. It is not unlikely that this number will increase in the following decade (International adoption from South Korea peaked in the mid 1980s). A report from Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (G.O.A.'L) indicates that the long term returnees (more than one year) are predominantly in their early twenties or early thirties.
This is the perils of looking at the issue through an American lens. Hmm.
One factor that helped making KADs visible in the South Korean discourse, was a 1991 film called Susanne Brink's Arirang, based upon the life and experiences of Susanne Brink, an adult KAD from Sweden who stated to have suffered abuse and racism in her adoptive home and country. After the movie she became a celebrity in South Korea, and many South Koreans started to feel shame and guilt for the children their country had sent out (Hübinette, 1999). Since then, South Korean media rather frequently reports on the issues regarding international adoption. Most KADs have taken on the citizenship of their adoptive country and no longer have Korean passports. Earlier they had to get a visa like any other foreigner if they wanted to visit or live in South Korea. This only added to the feeling that they were 'not really South Korean'. In May 1999, a group of KADs living in Korea started a signature-collection in order to achieve legal recognition and acceptance (Schuhmacher, 1999). At present (2009) the number of KADs long term residents in South Korea (mainly Seoul) is estimated at approximately 500. It is not unlikely that this number will increase in the following decade (International adoption from South Korea peaked in the mid 1980s). A report from Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (G.O.A.'L) indicates that the long term returnees (more than one year) are predominantly in their early twenties or early thirties.
This is the perils of looking at the issue through an American lens. Hmm.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
right around now...
...my ulra-pragmatic, real world, conservative republican semi-childhood says: who gives a shit about adoption? It's just intense navel gazing.
Perhaps that side of me needs suppression...
Perhaps that side of me needs suppression...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
well speak of the devil...
I was randomly selected for a general college life type survey.
Two consecutive questions were "was your mother born in the USA?" and "was your father born in the USA?" Oh why oh why did I just know that the next question would not be "and were you born in the USA as well?"
The things even surveys take for granted...
Two consecutive questions were "was your mother born in the USA?" and "was your father born in the USA?" Oh why oh why did I just know that the next question would not be "and were you born in the USA as well?"
The things even surveys take for granted...
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