Honors College Thesis
 

Transracial adoptees, identity, and belonging : my story in a children's book

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  • Motivated by my own struggle to find identity and belonging as a transracial adoptee (TRA), I sought to fulfill two thesis purposes: 1) answer the question “How do transracial adoptees find and create identity and belonging in a contemporary United States culture and context?” and 2) establish a) a rationale and b) direction for writing my own children's book about transracial adoption, identity and belonging. I conducted a Children's Book Literature Review to identify gaps in the current children's TRA literature and found an alarming lack of TRA authorship (85.7% of authors were TRA parents). The 'Exploration of Experiences' ( TRA and TRA family member Surveys and Interviews) assisted with understanding how TRAs across the United States find identity and belonging and the support they need from my book. I found both TRAs and TRA family members want to see themes of identity, belonging, and self-love addressed, but TRAs feel racism (addressed through resilience) is an experience many TRA family members cannot understand or help them navigate. Thus, I established a strong rationale and direction for writing a children's book using my own voice as a TRA to help other transracial families navigate their unique, special and sometimes difficult experience.
  • Keywords: transracial adoption, identity, belonging, multiculturalism, children’s literature
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