A complex and understudied system, transnational adoption opens a window onto the relations between nations, the inequalities of the rich and the poor, and the history of race and racialization, though only recently has it become a significant way of forming a family for those who cannot have children. This new form of transnational adoption has been marked by the geographies of unequal power, as children move from poorer countries and families to wealthier ones, and yet little work has been done to synthesize its effects. Rather than focusing only on the U.S. as a receiving country, as much previous work on the topic does, "International Adoption" considers the perspectives of a number of sending countries as well as other nations which adopt - including sometimes from the U.S., particularly children of color. The book thus complicates the standard scholarly treatment of the subject, which tends to focus on the tensions between transnational adoptees - who argue that transnational adoption is an outgrowth of U.S. American wealth, power, and military might, as well as the desire not to adopt Black children - and adoptive parents - who maintain that the adoptions are about a desire to help children in need. Bringing together contributions by leading transnational adoption scholars from Latin America, Europe, Canada, and the United States, "International Adoption" draws together work on stranger adoption, kinship adoption, fostering, and the informal circulation of children, and takes into account alternate routes such as ART and surrogacy. Its overarching argument is the need for a more complex view of transnational adoption.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction: The Circulation of Children / Laura Briggs and Diana Marre Part I. Defining Reproduction: Law, Strangers, Family, Kin 1. The Movement of Children for International Adoption: Developments and Trends in Receiving States and States of Origin, 1998-2004 / Peter Selman; 2. International Adoption: Lessons from Hawai'i / Judith Schachter; 3. The Social Temporalities of Adoption and the Limits of Plenary Adoption / Francoise Romaine Ouellette; 4. The Desire for Parenthood Among Lesbians and Gay Men / Martine Gross; 5. Refiguring Kinship in the Space of Adoption / Barbara Yngvesson; 6. The Transnational Adoption of a Related Child in Quebec, Canada / Chantal Collard Part II. Perspectives from Sending Countries 7. Baby Bearing Storks: Brazilian Intermediaries in the Adoption Process / Domingos Abreu; 8. Transnational Connections and Dissenting Views: The Evolution of Child Placement Policies in Brazil / Claudia Fonseca; 9. International Adoption in Russia: "Market," "Children for Organs," and "Precious" or "Bad" Genes / Lilia Khabibullina; 10. The Medicalization of Adoption in and from Peru / Jessaca B. Leinaweaver; 11. Children, Individuality, Family: Discussing Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Adoption in Lithuania / Auksuole Cepaitiene Part III. Experiences in Receiving Countries 12. "We do not have immigrant children at this school, we just have children adopted from abroad": Flexible Understandings of Children's "Origins" / Diana Marre; 13. Routes to the Roots: Toward an Anthropology of Genealogical Practices / Caroline Legrand; 14. Return Journeys and the Search for Roots: Contradictory Values Concerning Identity / Signe Howell; 15. Mothers for Others: Between Friendship and the Market / Anne Cadoret; 16. Seeking Sisters: Twinship and Kinship in an Age of Internet Miracles and DNA Technologies / Toby Alice Volkman Index; About the Contributors

Prizes

An argument for a more complex view of transnational adoption, including stranger adoption, kinship adoption, fostering, and informal circulating children

Reviews

"...lively collection of seventeen essays...a comprehensive overview of a wide range of issues, with thought-provoking contributions on a variety of case studies from sending and receiving countries...very interesting and stimulating volume that will prove useful not only to adoption specialists, but also to those interested in kinship studies, reproductive technologies and transnational networks." Giovanna Bacchiddu from the University of St Andrews writing for Social Anthropology