Adoption, Identity, and Kinship: The Debate over Sealed Birth Records (Hardcover)

by Katarina Wegar (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Wegar's thoughtful book grew out of a dissertation generated by her dual status as an adoptee and sociologist. She deals with the controversy over sealed birth records, concentrating on the ambivalence toward adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parent(s) at the institutional, rather than personal, level. She discusses the implications of cultural attitudes toward all three groups and shows how the adopted child's kinship identity development is arguably seen as being primarily determined by genes or by social ties. Citing adoptees', adoptive parents', and birth parents' personal positions toward opening birth records as presented in the scholarly and popular media, Wegar suggests parallels between release of the genetic background information of adoptees and cases involving donated eggs and semen. She concludes that "the search debate will have to move [on]." This accessible, provocative study is for academics and interested lay people.?Suzanne W. Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Alfre.--." This accessible, provocative study is for academics and interested lay people.?Suzanne W. Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Alfred
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
This thoughtful book offers a new perspective on adoption and the search debate. Sociologist Katarina Wegar shows that all those involved in the controversies over sealed adoption records--adoptees, birth parents, and adopting parents--are affected by persistent social beliefs that adopted children are somehow inferior to other children. She discusses how to stop the perpetuation of such harmful images.

• Hardcover: 188 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1 edition (April 24, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300067593
• ISBN-13: 978-0300067590
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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