Question about the marketing of adoption as it relates to race?
All of the advertisements, articles, billboards, etc. feature a conventional looking white couple who are adopting or fostering a child of another race (usually of African or Asian descent). Why is this the standard look of adoption?
Why not show an African American couple with a caucasian baby? Or an Asian couple with an Hispanic child? Even the pics of gay adoptive couples are typically white…how about a photo of a gay black couple going to an orphanage in Russia to pick up their adoptee?
Tagged with: adoptee • adoption • adoptive couples • advertisements • american couple • asian couple • asian descent • billboards • caucasian • fostering a child • hispanic child • orphanage • photo • russia
Filed under: Article Marketing
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I find marketing of adoption unethical in general: it makes adoption seem natural *gag*
The "standard look of adoption" also includes ponies and swimming pools; it’s not like "all adoptions."
While I agree that they should have more diversity in the ads, adoption is also meant to be about the child, not the parents.
This is something that doesn’t happen in the UK with regards to domestic adoptions. I’ve noticed it’s not that common with IA either although it does happen.
http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/health_and_social_care/children_and_family_care/adoption/adopting_a_child/who_are_the_children_waiting/adoption_-_children_from_ethnic_minorities.htm
Adopting children from ethnic minorities
We always try to match the ethnic identity of children waiting to be adopted with that of their adopters. There is a national shortage of adopters from ethnic minorities and we encourage adopters from all backgrounds to come forward to adopt. Where an exact match in ethnicity cannot be found, Richmond looks carefully at the ability of adopters to support a child’s heritage and identity.
There aren’t that many African American people willing/able to adopt. You don’t see it on bill boards because it doesn’t happen that often.
Seriously. That’s why "children of color" are so "cheap". There aren’t enough people who want them.
Supply and demand. There are up to 40 couples looking to adopt every white baby. Black and Asian infants go directly into foster care because no one wants them.
Even if an African American couple did want a baby…
Why would they pick a white one? By the same logic that makes white people want a white baby, black people are going to want a black baby… Right?
Asians want asian babies… Makes sense…???
Supply and demand — there are fewer white babies, so white couples are more likely to adopt black or minority babies. Chinese people give up their female babies because they’re only allowed one child and prefer boys who will take care of them when they’re old — that’s their culture. So there are more Asian babies available for adoption.
Further, black people tend to adopt within families, so if someone has a child they can’t raise, another family member will raise the child informally, therefore not going through standard channels. On top of all this, there are more white people. All of this makes it more likely that white people are adopting minority children.
Oh, and because homosexuality is frowned upon in the black community, many black homosexuals are "on the down-low" (pretending to be straight and living secret homosexual lives), so they’re not going to appear in an ad.