Proximity to whiteness: Transracial Korean and Chinese American adoptees navigating discussions about racism and intersectionality with White adoptive parents.

Abstract

Following the Korean War in 1953 and China’s One-Child Policy in 1979, over 200,000 Korean children and 120,000 Chinese children were adopted into Western countries; 107,000 Korean children and 80,000 Chinese children were placed in the Unites States, specifically. This study explored the experiences of adult transracial Korean and Chinese adoptees who have engaged in discussions with their White adoptive parents related to topics and experiences with racism, discrimination, and intersectional identities and to understand some of the challenges, barriers, and successes. This topic is particularly relevant in light of the upsurge in violence toward the Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander communities during the global pandemic and the collective action of the Black Lives Matter movement. The present study utilized reflexive thematic analysis (TA) methods within constructivist-interpretivist and criticalist paradigms using internalized racism as a theoretical framework. Twenty-two participants (Ages 20–48, M = 29.5 years) were interviewed using a semistructured protocol. Thirteen participants were adopted from China, and nine participants were adopted from Korea. Following TA coding procedures, the team generated three overarching domain summary themes and 10 patterns of shared-meaning themes. Limitations, clinical implications, and future areas of research are discussed.