Internationally adopted people expand the image of family and Finnishness

The notion of Finnishness as whiteness challenges internationally adopted people to negotiate their identity, The Doctoral Research reveals. The Doctoral Research to be examined at the University of Jyväskylä examines the family of birth, the adoption family and the normative conception of Finnishness in the identity negotiations of internationally adopted people.

In her dissertation, Maarit Koskinen, M.Sc., examined the identity work of internationally adopted people. The research focused especially on the meanings of the family of birth, the adopted family and the normative conception of Finnishness in the negotiations on the identity of the adoptees.

Since 1985, almost 5,000 children have been adopted internationally in Finland. International adoptions are often closed adoptions, where the child has no contact with his or her family of birth as he or she grows up. Internationally adopted Finns also often differ from the native Finnish population in their physical characteristics, which exposes them to various experiences of racization, among other things. According to Koskinen's dissertation research, the identity negotiations of internationally adopted people often show both the unknown origin of birth and a different appearance from the native Finns.

Finding a family of birth builds an identity

Research interviews revealed that adulthood in particular, adopted parents ’own parenting, and encountering the family of birth were significant transitions in adopted lives. In this case, the negotiation of one's own identity was also activated.

The study found that some adoptees experienced a lack of information about the family of birth as a break in identity, making finding a family of birth important for negotiating identity and building a timeline of one’s own life. The search was carried out with thoughts, imaginations as well as concrete information related to adoption and one's own origin and the family of birth.

Meeting the family of birth was a very meaningful experience for many adopted and increased understanding of themselves. Nevertheless, family membership was justified more on the basis of caring and shared life history than on biological kinship. Cohesion in the adoption family was also built by open communication related to adoption.

Finnishness is often seen as whiteness

According to Koskisen's research, Finnishness is still often perceived as whiteness. This is reflected in how internationally adopted people face racization, even though they meet all the criteria for Finnish citizenship and culture. In the study, racization was found to challenge the identity and well-being of adopted people.

In return, one's own identity was negotiated in interaction situations by means of the Finnish name, family and the Finnish language. With the help of these “signs” of Finnishness, those adopted more easily achieved Finnishness in the eyes of the environment as well. Positive attitudes towards one's own diversity and ethnic origin, identification with other internationally adopted people, and social support were also key means of survival. According to the study, in particular, the close network of interpersonal relationships alleviated the anxiety caused by racialization.

"Despite their experiences, adopted people are not powerless victims of racialization, they are not marginalized, but they are able to actively negotiate and build their identity with the help of different coping strategies," Koskinen emphasizes.

"The fact that adoptees have to actively negotiate their own identities also gives them the opportunity to accumulate psychological, social and cultural capital for which we others do not have the same compulsion, and therefore not necessarily the same opportunity."

Anti-racist pedagogy included in the curriculum

In order to broaden the understanding of Finnishness, the general population should be made more aware of the ways of speaking and the attitudes with which internationally adopted and other racist groups are challenged to belong to Finnishness.

According to Koskinen, it would be especially important to increase the awareness of teachers and other educators about the manifestations of racization and the effects of racization on the developing identity and well-being of children and young people. This would require increased teacher training related to cultural and ethnic diversity, as well as the concrete integration of anti-racist pedagogy into national curricula.

International adoption expands the traditional notion of family and Finnishness

The presence of internationally adopted people in social dialogue renews perceptions of the family only as a relationship based on biological kinship and about Finnishness as whiteness. In addition to negotiating their own identities, the adoptees also negotiate Finnish citizenship identities and perceptions of families more broadly.

"It would be desirable for us, who represent normative notions of family and Finnishness, to become more aware of the different, often unintentional attitudes and ways of speaking that produce otherness, and to challenge people who deviate from these normative notions to negotiate their identities," Koskinen reminds.

Maarit Koskinen, M.Sc. from 12 noon. The opponent is Professor Tarja Pösö (University of Tampere) and the custos is Docent Marja Leena Böök (University of Jyväskylä). The language of the dissertation is Finnish. The work can be found athttp://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8549-3.

The dissertation can be followed at https://r.jyu.fi/dissertation-koskinen-120321.

More information:

Maarit Koskinen, maarit.g.koskinen@jyu.fi, tel. +358 40 805 4246

Maarit Koskinen enrolled as a student at Mäkelänrinne Adult High School in 1991 and graduated with a master's degree in education from the University of Jyväskylä in 2008.

Koskinen has completed his dissertation in doctoral programs in educational sciences and family research at the University of Jyväskylä, in the employment of a university teacher and with grants from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the Concordia Association. Koskinen is currently working as a university teacher at the Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä.

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