Diversity. Adult adoptees are a minority group in surrounding society. Historically, we have been both small in size and limited in power. Our diversity as adoptees intersects with our other diversities in many ways. We here at LD are women. Many adoptees are people of color, gay/lesbian/pan/poly/bi, transgendered, differently abled, transracially adopted, etc. How do your elements of diversity intersect in adoption? What are the strengths you’ve found in your personal diversity? What are the challenges? What can you or have you learned from adoptees who are different than you are?
I'm about as non-diverse as they come... white, Canadian, middle class, my parents never divorced, I have a high school education, I speak English. Sure I'm also a Lesbian, I speak French, and I identify with a French Canadian heritage. But I don't feel that there is a lot of variety in my life that would give me personal diversity.
I have had challenges in the past related to being a Lesbian. I have been fired from jobs, lost friends and family and was denied family benefits at work. But all of that was more than 20 years ago. Today I'm very out in all areas of my life and can't think of the last time I encountered any issues with my being Gay.
The diversity that I see within groups of adoptees is between those who want to search and those who do not. Often those two camps of people can be very diverse and can have difficulty understanding where each other is coming from. This often leads to the labeling of the "bitter" or "angry" adoptee vs the "in denial" adoptee. Over the course of my adoption journey I have vacillated from one camp to the other, finally settling somewhere in the middle. So maybe I do have some diversity after all.
1 comment:
Well thought-out. It always grieves me when people speak as though adoptees are wrong for seeking out birth family members / OBCs. I suppose it's just as wrong to assume that all adoptees always want to. Thanks for pointing out this hidden diversity!
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