Today’s Guest Blogger is Sheena Pruitt.
Huffington Post published an article by Mirah Riben titled “The Insensitivity of Adoption Day Celebrations”. Riben’s article takes a critical look at not only adoption celebrations, but also terminology such as “Gotcha Day” or “G Day”, which is used to reference those celebrations. The article examines “G Day” from several points of view, including those of adoptees. Riben provides us with the definition of the term “Gotcha”, explores the negative connotations of adoption celebration, and addresses the laden power dynamics within adoption day recognition.
The strengths of the article lie in the elaboration of the insensitivity of adoption day celebrations and also challenge the need for them all together. The first point, The ‘G’ word was described best by two adoptive parents who felt that “Gotcha” insinuates a game of tag or what you say when you kill a bug. One parent even goes on to say that it feels as if you’re saying “come here little orphan, I gotcha now” every time it is celebrated. An adoptee described her feelings stating that “take
Other contributors to the article point out that for the reasons previously stated, they do not celebrate “G” day, but rather term it Family Day or Adoption Day. Family Day is to recognize the day they became a family. Adoption Day speaks for itself. A celebration by another name is still a celebration of loss for an adoptee. Additionally, if adoptions dissolve, how many Family/Gotcha/Adoptive Days should one child/youth have to celebrate and how retraumatizing is each new day as they remember the others? This brings us to the article’s final point: Why the need to celebrate “Gotcha Day”, Family Day, or any other title for the day that an adoption is finalized. A celebration of the day is primarily beneficial to the adoptive parents, a day of happiness. For adoptees, especially younger ones, it can be a day of gifts and fun until they are older and realize the other side of things.
As adoption increases in popularity, more myths and insensitive practices emerge. There are not Gotcha Day merchandise and greeting cards, but these days can negate a major loss in the adoptee’s life and minimize the amount of collaborative work this family has ahead of them. Adoption Day celebrations insinuate a win/win situation, but in reality, it also consistently reminds adoptees of a day of loss and possible rejection.
Article Cited: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/the-insensitivity-of-adoption-day-celebrations_b_7207100.html