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A review by misosoupcup
Invisible Asians: Korean American Adoptees, Asian American Experiences, and Racial Exceptionalism by Kim Park Nelson
5.0
I am not a Korean adoptee I am a Chinese adoptee. I have been questioning the imperialistic, white savior roots of the international adoption industry and this book helped me confirm my theories as well as open my mind to other concepts of the Asian American identity and race relations in America. I believe that Kim Park Nelson leans towards the conclusion that international/transracial adoption cannot be sustained in a racist society, and while some people would probably be looking for an objective book on the history of transracial adoption, this book satisfied my needs as a transracial adoptee who is one of the angry adoptees that Nelson describes. I highly recommend it to other adoptees and white adoptive parents to read.
Adoptees who had good experiences are valid, but this book was valuable to me because it acknowledged the pain that adoptees go through of being involuntarily ripped away from your home country and your history and being placed in a racist society and being expected to meet a white standard of success. International adoption is rooted in white saviorism, so even the act of internationally adopting, or transracially adopting a child of color is inherently rooted in racist practices, and I personally cannot come to any conclusion that will set my mind at ease about transracial adoption of a child of color to a white family.
However it is more nuanced than just "transracial adoption should stop", (this is my belief), but in Yang's conclusion she does bring up the point that transracial adoption created a very unique culture in America and these experiences highlight a lot of problems pertaining to the Asian American identity, which I find valuable, but I am also torn about because in order for this niche culture to be sustained and studied over a long period of time, transracial and international adoption must be sustained.
Adoptees who had good experiences are valid, but this book was valuable to me because it acknowledged the pain that adoptees go through of being involuntarily ripped away from your home country and your history and being placed in a racist society and being expected to meet a white standard of success. International adoption is rooted in white saviorism, so even the act of internationally adopting, or transracially adopting a child of color is inherently rooted in racist practices, and I personally cannot come to any conclusion that will set my mind at ease about transracial adoption of a child of color to a white family.
However it is more nuanced than just "transracial adoption should stop", (this is my belief), but in Yang's conclusion she does bring up the point that transracial adoption created a very unique culture in America and these experiences highlight a lot of problems pertaining to the Asian American identity, which I find valuable, but I am also torn about because in order for this niche culture to be sustained and studied over a long period of time, transracial and international adoption must be sustained.