I think I do have a lot of opinions regarding the adoption in America - and the main culprit of it isn't confined to adoption only, but the other aspects of American cultures - trannies included. It is the believe that you can truly create 'truth' divorced from intimate social interactions and physical reality. Where things are only treated as real if it is defined by the experts and official institutions. This is a culture where the label, the symbol, the simulcrum of 'being something' is more important than really doing and being it. Where people are seen as to be branded commodity that can be categorised, marketed and understood without having to truly interact with that person. A man is a woman if the law says so, and a child can become a child of another for the same reason. And with this culture, people become obsessed as being defined in a certain way, rather than having a mental fluidity that the labelled self is an illusion. And self can be continually changing and dynamic. (It's ironic though that I'm at the opposite stance of Protestantism when it comes to the comment before)
I'd start that I'm from Thailand and the closed adoption/the belief that adopted children are truly yours, being 'no different than if we had you ourselves' doesn't exist.
Adoption in Thailand means the adoptive family wants to raise the child out of kindness and wanting the child to have a better life. The focus is on the act of 'Raising a child' and NOT being a 'real mother/father' - this is a principle of welfare that every places have. Here the original birth certificate of the child could not be changed, the child will always be known that they are adopted, you really can't hide it when it comes to paperwork, and the culture surround it sees that being adopted is not the equivalent to being a biological child but that doesn't mean they're not loved or being lesser. You're just not growing up with your real parents, that's a fact, and not a heart-shattering one. The law is also made that the adoptive parents could not receive anything from biological family of the child, but the adopted child could receive from both side - to focus that the duty of adopted parents is to raise a child. Adopted children can be glad they're adopted and given a better chance at life? yes... but they can't escape or lie to themselves that they aren't adopted. The language around adoption always distinguish them too.
When I found out that in American culture, adopted children is treated as a 'no different from biological children'. Knowing that birth certificate is sealed, and they have to play pretend 24/7 that they're a 'complete' happy family weirded me out a lot. My first exposure to this is the Sims 2 and adopted children is suddenly part of the genetic lineage of your characters and it confused me. Especially when it comes to "interracial" adoption which is a big can of worms of its own too. (I know some farmers here would pile on me, but 'race' is also another 'law before real' Americanism too)
I personally do think that American adoption system is messed up for the precise reason other than most children for adoptions are from junkies and trashy people in general - The children are forced to be in a limbo of existence forever, knowing the truth but can only presenting in the way that fits into legal narrative. And sometimes another limbo of not knowing if they're 'loved like a real child' or being just a moral fashion statement to be paraded around. (many adoptive acts like that and I'm disgusted)
They may start to wonder about their biological parents, while there's a pressure to 'think' that you shouldn't know and your adoptive parents are goody-saintly people for saving you, and you should just be thankful for that. I often find many older American (and Western World) adoptive parents to act like that - the sort of self-indulged moralism that they're saving a child and desire to be seen as 'the one', the possessiveness and defensiveness. And this can fuck up children a lot too. Especially when it comes to international and 'interracial' adoption where moral-fashion-statement angle of adoption totally hits the fan, mixed with the idea of exoticism which is pretty objectifying... If you remember the trend of celebrities adopting internationally like if they're going to pet shops
Mind you, I don't mind international/'interracial' adoption, but only if the culture around it isn't this 'real parents' mixed with white man burden bullshittery. I feel like adoption identity issues arise in the culture where identity reigns high and you are expected to singlemindedly fit into a certain identity box. The parents could not believe that they could be a good guardian or parents of children unless they're also defined in the paper that they're true and honest parents. They don't believe or having the flexibility that you can just raise someone to have a good life.
Some trannies related note : This is the same obsession that makes troons want to be recognised as a mother or father in the birth certificate so they can feel 'real'
Why are there so few non-"white" foster families?
I wondered if this is stemmed from Protestantism (as opposed to comment before me) - where the traditional institution of social connections are removed (which is understandable, the Catholic Church and any other religious institution can be pretty corrupt and tied to the state) And so by making virtues personal. They have to feel like they need to show they're good people, that they're moral and pure. These are the people who were the concerned parents trying to censor things on TV for the children, and the mindset of woke activists today are similar. You adopt a child to show that you're a 'good person'.
The other thing is that it's common for ethnic minorities to live in large family when they come to America, this include immigrant 'whites' too to a certain level too. when you live in a large extended family you sometimes have the duty to raise your relative's children. Not so much of a couple who want to be 'free and independent' in a cookie-cutter suburban.
If possible I might try to talk about the issues of 'interracial' adoption and the construct of race itself too, but later.
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Not to say that this kind of culture is inherently bad. The culture that are more lax and fluid has a harder time managing people and industrialising... and many stuck in the third world stage because of it. but you can also go too far and you ended up creating alienation robot world instead.
TL;DR There's an issue with 'law before real' culture in America that everything must be defined as a binary choice. And therefore create identity issues for adopted children. There's also the issues of people who want to only adopt to look like they're 'good people' and making it a fashion statement.
