CCi’s Quick List of Adoptee Articles
Disclaimer: Inclusion of resources does not constitute endorsement of views expressed on the individual sites. These sites are provided as resources ONLY.
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“6 Awkward Situations That Asian Adoptees are So Over” Ruby Rosenwasser shares questions that we all may know well, paired with timely and funny memes (6/2019).
“The Adopted Chinese Children Seeking Answers” An article follows the Nanchang Project and a couple of the adoptees and families that it aims to assist (7/2019).
“A Chinese Adoptee Examines ‘Otherness’” Chinese adoptee and student at University of Oregon, Zoë Haakenstad, writes about her senior thesis in the ethnic studies department that asked: How does the experience of being raised in a primarily white environment affect an Asian American adoptee’s understanding of their Asian identity? (10/2019).
“A Journey to my Roots as a Chinese Adoptee” French-Canadian Chinese Adoptee Andre-Anne Cote discusses her journey back to Nanchang in the summer of 2018 and the pieces of herself and her past that she found along the way (11/2018).
“A ‘Lost’ Daughter Speaks, and All of China Listens” Jenna Cook, one of the four Chinese adoptees featured in the 2011 documentary Somewhere Between, shares her experience of searching for her birth/biological parents in Wuhan, Hubei province, as well as the responses she has received over the course of her stay by the Chinese public and press (3/2016).
“A Post from Humans of New York” A Chinese adoptee talks about her relationship with her single, adoptive mom (6/2016).
“An Adoptee is Returning to China” Olivia Wolf, an intern for As Am News, writes about her upcoming trip to visit Shaoyang, Henan province (her birthplace) for the 1st time with her father. She plans to visit the welfare center that she came from in attempts to search for her foster mother (9/2017).
“Adoptee Meets Chinese Birth Family” Chinese adoptee Olivia Wolf reports on a story of 19-year-old Kaylena Wiederhold, a Chinese adoptee raised in the United States, finding her birth family (9/2019).
“Adopted 11-Year-Old Born In China Wants To Run For President In 2040 – So She’s Working To Change The Law”Alena Mulhern discusses the unfairness of the US’ constitution prevention from non-US-born citizens reaching the Oval Office, and how that limitation obstructs her (& others’) dream of becoming the US president (6/2016).
“An End of Chinese Adoption Ends, and Families Are Torn Over Its Legacy” More than 80,000 children from China were adopted by American families. While many appreciate how the adoptions reshaped their own lives, they are also glad to see the program conclude (9/2024).
“As China's Adoptees Return Home, a New Genre Tells their Tales” Mei Fong reports for the Wall Street Journal on the rise of Chinese Adoptee literature, film, and documentaries (11/2014).
“Asian But Not Really - An Adoption Story” Swedish adoptee Maja Boellke introduces many important aspects of the Chinese adoptee diaspora (2/2019).
“Attachment, Abandonment, and Adoption” Chinese adoptee, actor, martial artist, Chinese adoptee, actor, martial artist, dancer and adoptee advocate Kira Omans discusses attachment and abandonment as an adoptee (9/2019).
“Born Chinese, Raised American, An Adoptee Explores her Identity” A Chinese adoptee collaborates with her adoptive mother, who works as a journalist, to share her journey of finding her identity, her return to her birthplace, and, lastly, the impact the China’s one-child policy had on the practice of international/transnational adoption (2/2016).
“Born in Jiangsu, Growing Up in the United States, My Life Experience” Maya Ludtke writes and reflects about her trip back to Xiaxi (her hometown) and shares the reactions people had of her while she was there (12/2015).
“CCI - Charlotte Cotter” Chinese adoptee Charlotte Cotter is interviewed about CCI and the Chinese adoptee community for #Iamadoptee (10/2019).
“CCI - Emily Finley” Chinese adoptee Emily Finley is interviewed for #IamAdoptee in light of the recent publication of the Fall/Winter 2019 CCI E-magazine for which she was Editor-in-Chief (10/2019).
“Chinese Adoptee Finds her Birth Family on Her 19th Birthday” Olivia Wolf writes the story of Kaylena Wiederhold, a young woman from Michigan, who finds her birth family in Jiangxi Province, China (8/2018).
“Chinese Adoptees at Home in America” Meng Han explores the lives and issues of Chinese adoptees living in the US in the midst of her English Fellowship (12/2015).
“Chinese American Adoptee Uses Social Media to Share the Realities of Navigating Adoption” One North Texan created an Instagram account to detail her personal adoption experience and encourage other adoptees to join her mission to create awareness around adoption trauma (07/2021)
“China’s One-Child Policy and American Adoptees” In a 2015 article, Stav Ziv interviews a broad group of members of the Chinese adoption community on their thoughts regarding the end of the One Child Policy (11/2015).
“China’s One-child Policy Left Countless Children Bereft. It Can Help to Ease the Pain of Loss.” Meia Geddes, Chinese adoptee, librarian at the Boston Public Library, assistant at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, writer, artist, and bookseller, writes an important advocacy piece urging China to own up to its one-child policy and offer support for adoptees seeking biological family (12/2019).
“China’s One-child Policy Led to My Adoption — And a More Privileged Life” Ricki Mudd talks about her reunion with her biological/birth parents, the discoveries she made during her stay in her birthplace, as well as her thoughts about the One-Child Policy (9/2015).
“Chinese Adoptees Say They Feel Conflicted After China Announces End to International Adoptions” NBC covers a story on Chinese adoptees’ feelings on China’s suspending international adoptions. “We’re a group that will ‘go extinct,’” an adoption researcher said. “With that, it feels even more important to find each other and be in community with each other” (9/2024).
“DNA III- Katie Mantele” Adoption advocate Katie Mantele shares her thoughts on the current state of DNA testing for Chinese adoptees (6/2019).
“For Chinese-American Adoptees, Identity Matters” NPR released a story on Chinese adoptees following the 2012 release of Linda Goldsteign Knowlton's documentary Somewhere Between (8/2012).
“Four Transracial Asian Adoptees on Body, Place, Family, and Race” KaeLyn explores her story in dialogue with four transracial Asian adoptees, with a particular focus on queer and trans spaces (05/2020).
“Further Reflections on Adoption, Chinese Study Abroad” Two years after her study abroad experience in Shanghai, Kim Rooney reflects on her experience as a Chinese-American adoptee returning to China for the first time (10/2019).
“Grappling with My Chinese Roots” A Chinese adoptee who grew up in Maine reflects on her difficult road to embracing her identity (8/2020)
“How I Really Feel about my Chinese Heritage as an Adoptee” Australian Chinese adoptee Mei Webb explores ranging opinions on the importance of parents immersing their adopted children in their native heritage (2/2015).
“I Found My Birth Mother. It Didn't Rock My Life — And That's Ok” Ashley Westerman talks about her reunion with her biological/birth mother from the Philippines, from a realistic perspective.While she was excited about seeing her mother again for the first time, she discusses her emotions of how her life did not seem to dramatically change afterwards, and that she did not have much in common with her mom, other than genetics (6/2018).
“I Hate Being Judged Because I Look Different Than My Adoptive Family” Emma, an Indonesian adoptee, shares her experiences of people making remarks about how “different” she looks from the rest of her family. She hopes that people will come to realize that her family is just like any other typical family, and that she is not as different as it may appear from her own family (12/2015).
“I Was Adopted From China as a Baby. I’m Still Coming to Terms With That” A Dutch journalist based in China writes from Beijing about her experience being adopted from China as a toddler in 1993 by white Dutch parents (9/2024).
“I Was the Daughter My Parents Didn’t Keep” CCi Co-founder, Charlotte Cotter, discusses her story finding her birth parents and her experiences as a Chinese adoptee on Channel News Asia. (10/2024)
“I’m an International Adoptee and I’m Not Interested in Finding my Biological Parents” Holly Johnson explores why she would choose not to search for her biological parents (3/2019).
“In Search of Self, Chinese Adoptees find Shifting Identities” In 2014, NBC followed two Chinese adoptees, Kate Crotty and Genevieve Norman, as a way to discuss Chinese adoptees in America (9/2014).
“Joey's Journey as a Male Chinese Adoptee” Joey shares his story as a male Chinese adoptee, a story that is much less told within the community (2018).
“Learning to use Chopsticks: Coming out as Korean-American” Korean adoptee KaeLyn tells her story of “coming-out” as a Korean-American (09/2014).
“Meet The Girls Given Up for Adoption Under China’s One Child Policy” Chinese adoptee Youqine Lefevre, a 27 year old photographer based in Belgium, retraces her personal history in her photo project The Land of Promises (8/2021).
“My Struggle with Stereotyping as a Chinese Adoptee” Chinese-American adoptee Emily Champion discusses stereotyping and racism that she has faced in the US on HuffPost (11/2014).
“The Not-So Perks Of A “Privileged” Life: The Consequences of China’s One-Child Policy” Mary-Claire Colombo reflects on the One-Child Policy and shares her conflicting feelings about the policy’s recent termination (1/2016).
“On Centering Adoptee Narratives” by Casey Lu Simon-Plumb, Meghan Kelly, & Christopher Malfronti. This article argues that the adoption experience is different for every adoptees, and that their own thoughts about adoption can be different from others. They also share questions for everyone to think about in order to critically analyze the practice of adoption (4/2018).
“On China’s one-child policy: reflections of an adoptee” Chinese adoptee, Scout Gregorson, responds to an opinion paper written by Sarah Conly (a professor of philosophy) concerning the One-Child Policy (4/2018).
“Personal Essay by a Chinese adoptee: I Returned to China to Find my Biological Family and Discover my Cultural Roots” Chinese adoptee André-Anne published an essay on the media platform Nüvoices, which hopes to celebrate the voices of women working on the subject of China. André-Anne writes about how her recent trip to China has shaped her conception of "Chinese identity,” framed by her knowledge of China’s social, economic, and political circumstances both then and now (11/2019).
“The Point of Return” The Boston Globe covers the story of three teens that made their way back to the orphanage they left in China - this time as volunteers (8/2008).
“Putting Faces to the Past: How Adoptees in the West are Seeking out their Birth Families in China” South China Morning Post covers a story of Chinese adoptees attempting to reconnect with birth families through online videos. (3/2018).
“Reconciling Asian-American Identity within Transracial Adoptions” Mengwen Cao photographed and interviewed New Yorkers who were adopted from Asia and grew up in white families (2/2019).
“Searching for her Birth Parents, Chinese girl adopted to the United States 22 years ago just wants them to know she is safe and happy” In 1996, Carol Free adopted a girl, who she named Kathryn, and took her to California. This year Kathryn returned to China to seek her biological parents – but, for any number of reasons, they may not want to be found (7/2018).
“Staying Connected: Why These Nine Adoptees from China Reunite Annually” Nicknamed the Spicy Sisters,” the nine adoptees from China and their parents make an effort to reunite annually (7/2018).
“The Struggle For Identity As An Asian American Adoptee” Kristin Lauritsch shares her experience of being a Korean adoptee who grew up in a white suburban, as well as her experience of being involved with the Asian Student Union in college (9/2017).
“Two Asian-American Women Discuss What It Means To Be Transracial Adoptees” Huffington Post interviews two Korean adoptees on the subject of transracial adoption, race, Korean culture, and family (10/2017).
“Why We Need to Talk about Race in Adoption” Nicole Chung discusses why race should be an important and meaningful discussion in transracial adoptive families (05/2013).
“You Can Go Home Again” In search of answers, two Chinese American teens return to the rural towns in China where they were abandoned as infants (6/2015).