Creating the Korean Adoptee: Intersections of Race, Gender, Class, and Nation

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Race, Ethnicity, and Identity

Abstract

Contemporary transnational adoption literature includes analysis of race, gender, class, and/or nation. Within these analyses, we see how these systems of oppression intersect to create a category of adoptable bodies. However, how these intersect to create an identity that is the by-product of power is largely unexplored. Using the case of Korean adoptees, I ask the question how do race, gender, class, and nation intersect to create an adoptee-specific identity. I draw upon Korean adoptee activism (i.e., networking groups, conferences, cultural production) to illustrate how identity is a by-product of power but also how people can mobilize identity to combat racialization, challenge racial boundaries, and create social change.

Author

• Wendy Marie Laybourn, University of Maryland