| Adoption., you hear about it all over the news. | | | | display in their homes. While parents defend this |
| Mary-Louise Parker, star of the television program | | | | consumption for display as an effort to validate their |
| "Weeds," has adopted a daughter from Africa, | | | | children's ethno-cultural origins, they also reveal how it |
| actress Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt have been | | | | signifies and solidifies their own identifications with |
| adopting as well as famous pop singer Madonna, but | | | | Chinese culture. As part of a larger research project |
| what about fatherhood in adoptive children and the | | | | examining China adoptive parents' evolving "Chinese" |
| cultural gaps that are created when adopting children | | | | identities, this paper asks: Which parents "become |
| from another country. | | | | 'Chinese'" through the consumption and display of |
| Kathleen Lamb recently wrote in the Journal of Family | | | | Chinese cultural objects, and why? |
| Issues that, "Adoption has been the purview of the | | | | To answer this question, I conducted semi-structured |
| social work field but has received little empirical | | | | in-depth interviews with 91 Americans in the China |
| evaluation by other family scholars. Using the 2002 | | | | adoption process and ethnographic fieldwork at two |
| National Survey of Family Growth, 378 men currently | | | | different field-sites: Families with Children from China |
| cohabiting with or married to a woman with her own | | | | (FCC) Chinese cultural celebrations and Chinese |
| children are evaluated to determine whether the | | | | culture camps organized by/for China adoptive |
| respondent`s biological children affect the odds of | | | | families. Focusing on the emergent and personal |
| adoption of his wife`s or cohabiting partner`s children. | | | | meanings that parents give to Chinese cultural |
| Logistic regression results support the social role | | | | objects, I demonstrate how these meanings both |
| facilitation hypothesis as the presence of resident, | | | | structure parents' consumption and yield a display |
| shared biological children the respondent fathered | | | | differential. In doing so, I reveal that white |
| with the current spouse/partner is associated with | | | | European-American parents and mothers are most |
| greater odds of stepparent adoption. The presence | | | | likely to engage in this consumption and display, |
| of nonresident biological children fathered with a | | | | thereby amending the three types of ethno-cultural |
| previous spouse/partner reduces the odds of | | | | identity consumption represented in the literature. |
| stepfather adoption because men who have such | | | | Specifically, I expose the central role of race in |
| children are less likely to be married. Results suggest | | | | ethno-cultural identity consumption; demonstrate that |
| that men who adopt their stepchildren are | | | | the collective category of reference for |
| uncommon and new and existing biological children | | | | ethno-cultural identity consumption is not always an |
| play a role in formalizing relationships with | | | | ethnic category (in this case, such consumption |
| stepchildren." | | | | refers to a gendered category); and illustrate the |
| It is a study that clearly shows pertinent information | | | | ways in which global ethno-cultural identity |
| when considering adoption or learning more about the | | | | consumption both appeals to and satisfies distinctly |
| subject. | | | | local constructs." |
| Nothing is more evident in the United States then the | | | | It is clear that many studies exist in answering these |
| increase of adopting children from China. With the | | | | questions, but many more need to be done. For |
| influx of Chinese children being adopted by American | | | | many parents, adoption is a wonderful answer to |
| parents, how are Americans easing or bridging the | | | | their parental needs. Many experts agree however, |
| cultural gap. | | | | that before you jump into adoption, do all of your |
| As Amy Traver of Qualitative Sociology points out, | | | | homework, talk to counselors and make sure it is not |
| "American parents of children adopted from China | | | | only right for you, but the situation will be right for |
| frequently consume Chinese cultural objects for | | | | the child. |