Safely ‘Other’: The Role of Culture Camps in the Construction of a Racial Identity for Adopted Children

Abstract

Transnationally adopted children in the United States face a unique set of circumstances in which defining identity can be overwhelmingly difficult. A large body of research has been done on the psychological aspects of identity development in transnational/cultural adoptees and the role that parents and environmental factors play in this developmental process, with more recent research beginning to address the sociological aspects adoptee identity and identity development. However, with few exceptions (e.g., Fisher, 2003; Randolph and Holtzman, 2010), previous research primarily overlooks the role of adoption-related organizations in introducing and shaping the adoptee’s experience and understanding of his or her birth culture.