My issue is not the race of the adopted parents but the general cluelessness. Most white Americans who adopt from China are oblivious about both China and racial and identity issues. And, of course, parents who assume that white=normal/better, and exoticize their adopted children, have no business transracially adopting.

On the other hand, I know white parents who have lived or still live in China, who speak Mandarin, who are more conversant in “Chinese culture” (but the actual, live variety, not the fetishized variety), who have adopted Chinese kids. They live in multi-ethnic, heavily Asian communities, whether in Asia or in the US. But – even for them is it better? If they stay in China, the kids get to keep their birth country identity while having all the advantages of being US nationals, growing up bilingual, etc. On the other hand, by tint of their adopted parents, they’ll grow up as foreigners and outsiders in their birth country.

It’s not restricted to adoption – I’ve seen some kids of transnational families grow into sophisticated global citizens, but others into lost souls fitting nowhere.

Back to adoption, keep in mind that China remains a very poor country. The urban glitter is a mask, a false face to impress foreigners. 5-10% of Chinese are well-off, but mostly at the expense of the rest of the people, and the prosperity of the minority drives up the cost of living for the majority. Of course all the child trafficking is immensely disturbing. But there are still a lot of abandoned kids – albeit a lot of them older.

I agree with your complaint about the lack of support and health care available to expectant mothers, however the stigma surrounding single motherhood seems to have existed in the white population and now seems to have largely disappeared.

Among children born to never-married women under 45 years of age, percentage who were relinquished for adoption, by race, according to year of child’s birth: United States, before 1973–2002
according to year of child’s birth: United States, before 1973–2002
(truncated to fit here)
Race Before 1973 1973-1981 1982-1988
All women 8.7 4.1 2.0
Black or African American 1.5 0.2 1.1
White 19.3 7.5 3.2

Source: Jones J. Adoption experiences of women and men and demand for children to adopt by women 18–44 years of age in the United States, 2002. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(27). 2008. Statistics

Also noted in the text of the report “As noted in the ‘‘Methods’’ section, relinquishment in this report includes infants relinquished during the first month whereas in previous reports relinquishment was limited to those infants relinquished at birth because, of the estimated 6.8 million babies born to never-married women 18–44 years of age between 1996 and 2002, too few infants were relinquished at birth (without being named) by the biological mother to produce statistically reliable results (not shown).”

The study makes for fascinating reading, BTW. It looked at not only the characteristics of potential adoptive parents but also at the “Characteristics of the Adopted Child That Women Would Prefer”.

Yes, and in 2001 China told the UNICEF “In China, there are 46,808 orphaned or abandoned children, most of whom are disabled and under state care.” Source: 2001 CHN: Children in Institutions and Other Forms of Alternative Care in China I don’t think that anyone believes that particular number, and yet that was the official number reported.

As they say – “never believe statistics you don’t falsify yourself”.