Man, do I love The Onion. The first time I ever saw a video by them, I was gullible enough to think I was watching a real news story! I thought this particular clip would be appropriate for the blog. Celebrities have undoubtedly been trendsetters when it comes to transracial and transnational adoption. Brangelina, Meg Ryan, Katherine Heigl, Sandra Bullock, Madonna.. Oh, and let's not forget Jillian Michaels who plans to adopt in order to not ruin her body. Please. I cannot pass judgement on all these people, but I'd like to see just one of them step up as an informed adoptive parent. I sincerely hope that adoptive parents, especially in this day and age, take the time to examine what they are doing and what it means. In college and beyond, I've sometimes heard peers nonchalantly say they'll 'just adopt an Asian baby' someday. I feel as though the spotlight that celebs have put on adoption normalizes it to the point where people don't give it a second thought. They don't stop to ask why children in other countries are up for transnational adoption in the first place. Or, worse, perhaps they assume that these children are being saved from some uncivilized, 'third world' country. What a hurtful notion. I like living in the United States, but I would never herald it as superior to Korea.
Anyways, hope the clip was enjoyed. I know this isn't everyone's kind of humor, but I just had to share. Kind of makes me feel bad for Jennifer Aniston, though!
Perhaps I'm a bit ignorant or confused... But isn't that sort of thinking more along the lines of ethnocentrism? It doesn't sound like cultural relativism to me... Perhaps there is a more negative side to cultural relativism that I haven't thought about? I always thought it meant attempting to judge another culture by its own standards rather than your own...
ReplyDeleteAhh! You're absolutely right! For whatever crazy reason, I reversed the definition of the term in my head. I suppose arguments *could* be made against the concept, but they're not arguments I would willingly make! Thanks for catching that.
ReplyDeleteMeg Ryan and Katehrine Heigle are informative adoptive parents. Please don't compare those ones to someone as selfish as Madonna.
ReplyDeleteI just have not seen any of those celebrities speak out in a way that shows they are very informed about adoptee needs and culturally sensitive. If you have some supporting examples, could you link them for me?
ReplyDeleteAs far as Meg Ryan goes (and I love Meg Ryan's acting), I know she made some offhand comments about China and Japan when she was endorsing some random soap product to Asian countries. And then she went ahead and adopted a child from China..with what kind of mindset about China? Katherine Heigl has been considering a move to Nashville which, while good for the family in some ways, will also mean moving her daughter to a less ethnically diverse area. She has also mentioned now wanting to adopt from Haiti to 'save' children.