Decolonizing Narratives on First Mothers in Inter-country Child Adoption For Reproductive Justice

Abstract

In this paper, I align with Mohanty's postcolonial feminist analysis to confront the depiction of first mothers exclusively as passive victims in conversations surrounding transnational adoption. Rather than accepting this portrayal, my goal is to cultivate nuanced perspectives on the experiences of first mothers, aiming for the advancement of substantive reproductive justice and depicting first mothers as silent victims, which are just as crucial for the functioning of intercountry adoption practices as their current absence. In this context, white adoptive parents were often perceived as "saviors" (King, 2008, p.25), and intercountry adoption was framed as a humanitarian intervention (Rotabi & Brom-field, 2017). Moreover, the adopted children are frequently depicted as orphans and victims of war, poverty, and various crises, becoming symbolic figures employed to shape inter-country adoption practices under the guise of humanitarian aid, thus overshadowing the substantial commercial elements involved. Nevertheless, the harsh truth remains most of these children have birth parents, often born to unmarried mothers or conceived outside of wedlock. When the adopted child is labeled as an orphan, intercountry adoption practice effectively hides or disregards the existence of first mothers/ parents within the discourse