Transracial and Transnational Adoption in Children’s Literature: Implications for Asian American Adoptees’ Representation, Cultural Authenticity, and Identity

Abstract

This study explores how Asian American adoptee emerging adults make sense of children’s literature on adoption and their own experiences. Participants included nine transracial, transnational adoptees from China and South Korea ranging from 20 to 25 years old. They participated in a survey and a semi-structured interview to discuss their reaction to adoption-related children’s books and personal reflections. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the findings are organized into six themes: (a) terminology, (b) my parents’ story, (c) relatability, (d) multidimensional narratives, (e) racial feelings, and (f) critical reflections on societal issues. Informed by our findings, recommendations for increasing the representation of Asian American adoptees in children’s literature are discussed.

Keywords:

• Asian American adoptee
• transnational adoption
• transracial adoption
• cultural authenticity
• children’s literature

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The present study is an extension of Hannah Kleinbardt’s psychology senior thesis and independent study, funded by the Bates College Student Research Fund.