Cultural and racial socialization in Spanish transracial adoptive families

Abstract

The article analyzes the particular contexts in which families that adopted children from other countries and racial groups negotiate the challenges posed by the “transracial adoption paradox”: the contradictions in daily social interaction that stem from the dual social position of the children vis-à-vis their host/adopting society. While enjoying the privileges associated with living in families belonging to the racial and ethnic hegemonic group, these children are, at the same time, potentially vulnerable to the kind of discrimination and social stigmatization endured by racial minorities. The data have been extracted from the “Adoptive families and their lifestyles” survey (2012) and are based on a questionnaire answered by 230 Spanish interracial families who adopted children abroad. The results show how adoptive parents tend to put in practice socialization patterns close to assimilation/acculturation into the mainstream culture, while reproducing at the same time the ideology of colorblind racism.