Moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of U.S. multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism.

In the last fifty years, transnational adoption—specifically, the adoption of Asian children—has exploded in popularity as an alternative path to family making. Despite the cultural acceptance of this practice, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the factors that allowed Asian international adoption to flourish. In Global Families, Catherine Ceniza Choy unearths the little-known historical origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. Beginning with the post-World War II presence of the U.S. military in Asia, she reveals how mixed-race children born of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese women and U.S. servicemen comprised one of the earliest groups of adoptive children.
Based on extensive archival research, Global Families moves beyond one-dimensional portrayals of Asian international adoption as either a progressive form of U.S. multiculturalism or as an exploitative form of cultural and economic imperialism. Rather, Choy acknowledges the complexity of the phenomenon, illuminating both its radical possibilities of a world united across national, cultural, and racial divides through family formation and its strong potential for reinforcing the very racial and cultural hierarchies it sought to challenge.

"While Hollywood has made it famous, people have been adopting children from other countries since the end of World War II . . . In this book Catherine Choy brings to life the history of this unique way to create a family . . . This book will help students get a sense of where we have come from." - San Francisco Book Review

"Concise, provocative, and utilizing expert resources, Choy's work greatly assists in the larger discussion of, and questions concerning, global family making and the points of view of the adoptees often left out of this discussion." - Journal of Asian American Studies

"Her book's strength is in the stories themselves, which Choy narrates with skill and sympathy. . . . A useful corrective to one-dimensional, romantic portraits of adoption that saturate popular culture today. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." - Choice

"Amidst the current decline in international adoption because of stricter laws and treatises and increasing activism against it,Global Families sheds light on an important question: How does international adoption contribute to the acceptance of marginalized biracial individuals in a multicultural society?....Furthermore, Choy situates international adoption within the ambit of history and Asian American studies and gives a critical space for discussing international adoption beyond the purview of family and social work studies." - Social Transformations

"Choys ability to capture, passionately and compassionately, the particularities of individual, organizational, and national histories is the main strength of her book. Her concept of global family making deserves serious consideration as it bridges the micro and macro processes that come together to shape normative and non-normative family structures, including multiracial, queer, and extended family formations. . . . In Choys incisive and sensitive writing, I hope that [adoptive parents] will see themselves reflected not as & good or & bad individuals or families, but as participants in a collective saga of personal and political upheaval that is still unfolding." - Women's Review of Books

"Global Familiesadds important analyses of race, empire, migration, and globalization to the scholarship on international adoption and studies of childhood more broadly. It is meticulously researched but also highly readable." - The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth

"In this engaging book, Choy looks at one aspect of this complex subject. . . . In a gripping final chapter, Choy turns to adopteesnow adultsand charts the ways they have used art to & talk back to triumphalist adoption narratives. Their art speaks to precisely what these narratives suppress: ambivalence, loss, grief, and racism. This pain does not ify adoptees commitment to their adopted families, but it does remind us that many adoption stories remain to be told. Choys book provides a wonderful start." - The Journal of American History

"By redirecting attention to the historical foundations of contemporary adoption trends, this study places individual stories of child rescue so often valorized by the media within the broader context of debates that took place between adoptive parents, social services, and adoption agencies, and humanitarian organizations[T]his study makes a significant contribution to the fields of Asian American studies and adoption studies, demonstrating that the two need to be considered in tandem as well as through a more global lens." - Contemporary Sociology

"[]Global Familiesis a concise and approachable introduction to the origins of Asian international adoption in the United States. In particular, its geographical focus on East Asia as a whole rather than on a single country, its plentitude of voices and actors, and its commitment to understanding the complexities of international adoption merit its incorporation into future studies and discussions on the history of adoption, Asian American history, and & global family making." - Journal of American Culture