Was originally going to title this something along the lines of “Why do some adopted people originally think they’re not adopted?” but then I came to this (honestly quite horrifying) realization.
Please tell me I’m wrong and that people DON’T gaslight their children into thinking they’re not adopted.
Eugh… It’s like the whole shit with “”““international adoption””“” (hint: It’s stealing toddlers from the periphery and trafficking them into the imperial core. Complete with cishet white “parents”!)
Where was MY condescending adoptive Chinese parents for getting me out of the shit hole United States and into the civilized PRC? /s
I’m thinking of one case where I assisted a family find housing, a child was not told about their biological father because of his history of abuse and his proximity to the family. I believe the mother had listed the child’s father as unknown on the birth certicifate specifically because of the concern that the father might abduct or become more involved with her and her children again. The child was developmentally unable to understand that this man was not a safe person to be around. Telling the child they had another parent could have potentially resulted in a situation where they would trust him, potentially leading to abuse or abduction or something similar.
But anyway, there’s tons of cases similar to that. It’s never easy.