A Comparative Study on the Experiences of Transracial, Same-Race, and Mixed-Race Chinese Adopted People (Extended Abstract)

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 8: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Race

Abstract

China opened its borders to the West for intercountry adoption since the promulgation of the Adoption Law of the People’s Republic of China in 1991. Between 1992 and 2023, over 160,000 children have been sent to live in the West (Kennedy & Shi, p.84, 2019). While some scholars have begun studying this through critical adoption studies, one key feature has been left out of the conversation. How do the experiences of transracial adoptions from China differ from those of same-race (SR) adoptions? This research is a comparative study that aims to look at the experiences of same-race (SR), mixed-race (MR), where one adoptive parent is of the same race and the other of a different race, and transracial Chinese children (TRA) taken by adoption from China to the United States. Through in-depth interviews, this research explores the experiences and challenges these individuals faced growing up, and what can be done moving forward to support children impacted by adoption.

Author

• Fuyu Zheng, University of Massachusetts Amherst