I saw a whole line of "expecting! a baby from Haiti" products. There are shirts, cups, clocks, and thong underwear all plastered with the words "expecting! a baby from Haiti" on them. One can purchase these products from this page on Cafe Press for anywhere from $3.00-$35.00 dollars.
....Geez....
I feel like I should be shocked by these products, but in many ways I am not.This site has reminded me of a section of adoption discussion that I have been neglecting on this blog: the personal effects on and motivations of adoptive families and more specifically, the theory that adoption is deeply defined by display. Well, if this is not display I don't know what is.
If these products have a market in the US, we are either a country full of distasteful gag-gifters or we have some serious self-image issues. Why would people by these products for legitimate reasons? To show off their up-and-coming good deed to others? To make themselves feel better about themselves? To get attention?
I am not sure.
That's crazy they would sell such things! But like you I'm not completely shocked. It's like the new mom or mommy to be shirts, but instead specific adoption? The thong makes me hope its a gag gift, but I feel like some people are just that proud and would wear such shirts to show off their excitement? joy? how good of a person they are? I'm not sure either! The clock makes me laugh though! Makes me think of the countdown counters that some people put on websites! :P
ReplyDeleteOh gosh! Is that a thong? I guess "to each their own." I guess it's a way for future adoptive parents to get excited about the arrival of their children in a similar way to those who a pregnant. As someone who has both adopted and biological children, I can say that the waiting process for an adopted child is much more difficult!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteAfter posting this I actually also considered the fact that these products aren't that different than those that are so common for pregnant mothers. They just seem so much more shocking! I really wonder why?
Angelina- I wonder if the wait really is more difficult? I don't have any personal experience with adoption so I would be interested to hear more.
I think part of the reason why this kind of product is more shocking than a parallel product for a soon-to-be biological parent is that adoption is so frequently associated with a humanitarian gesture rather than simply the expansion of a family. An adoptive parent gets praised for his or her selflessness, so buying a product to advertise an adoption, particularly an adoption from a country ravaged by an earthquake, seems like self-aggrandizement.
ReplyDelete