Two adoption-related stories from this week...
Probably I'm the only one interested in this, but two stories written by adoptive parents (or prospective adopters): This good story by Jen Graves from the Seattle free-weekly The Stranger, "Black Kids in White Houses", and this much more problematical one on "gestational surrogacy" entitled "Her Body, My Baby" by Alex Kuczynski (esp. check out the pictures that seem designed as a class/race critique of Kuczynski's piece). The pictures on the latter really say it all in some ways...she's also the third, much younger wife of a high-powered executive. Hmmm.
I probably won't teach the latter article at all this next term when i'm teaching my adoption class again, but may use the pictures in class to talk about the ethics of the baby market. In the article, she clearly recognizes that there is an ethical dimension to her choices, but is also makes it pretty clear that she's really most comfortable having those ethical issues a little glossed over, because this is what she wants and she can afford it, dammit, and so. There.
I probably won't teach the latter article at all this next term when i'm teaching my adoption class again, but may use the pictures in class to talk about the ethics of the baby market. In the article, she clearly recognizes that there is an ethical dimension to her choices, but is also makes it pretty clear that she's really most comfortable having those ethical issues a little glossed over, because this is what she wants and she can afford it, dammit, and so. There.