Exceptional Silence

Abstract

In this lyric essay, AfroSwedish performance scholar, actress, and activist Ellen Nyman explores the many silences that surround international adoption in Sweden. Historically constructed as a benevolent humanitarian project of Western welfare states to provide security, material welfare, and future opportunities for children from the Global South, practices of international adoption have been entwined with exceptionalist and colonial logics and discourses. As a result of decades of adoptees¹ organizing themselves, the misconduct of governments and agencies, and the violations of the rights of adoptees and their first families have begun to surface. This has culminated in state-level inquiries and moratoriums on international adoption. Yet the experiences of adoptees remain shrouded in silence, leaving those who have suffered the consequences of severing familial and cultural bonds to develop practices of care. Highlighting the emotional labor that adoptees perform as they navigate relationships with adoptive families, face racism in Swedish society, and build communities of mutual support, this essay illustrates the importance of individual and collective voice as a tool of resistance and recovery. International adoption and its consequences must be understood as an AfroNordic feminist issue, as an issue of both racial justice and reproductive justice.