Today: Is Cross-Cultural Adoption On The Rise?

It appears Hollywood is gaga over African babies these days. Is this the new status symbol, or a way for celebrities to use their status to bring attention to the plight of children in Africa?

Yes, non-white babies are a trend in Hollywood. This is only relatively new, and was summed up in a British television comedy called Absolutely Fabulous! when upon learning her single daughter is pregnant, Edwina, one of the middle aged, fashion director leads in the show gets wildly upset — only to do a one hundred eighty degree turn when she finds out that the baby is bi-racial because having a bi-racial baby is much more chic than a caucasian baby, and will make her a very trendy grandmother. It’s comedy, but it’s grounded in truth of the time.

The non-white baby craze is the celeb way of addressing their own infertility limitations and/or their open-mindedness and charity. Non-white babies used to be very difficult to place by adoption agencies because most families wanted white babies. The same way fashion shifts and hemlines change, Hollywood suddenly embraced bi-racial and non-white babies, and American loves celebrities, and followed suit.

What about American children awaiting adoption?

They will be adopted by other people who cannot afford the exotic adoption trips that stars with money can take to Africa, India, China and other countries…until adopting foreign babies becomes blase and adopting American children is a new trend.

What is it that bothers people about this adoption? Is race an issue?

The reason people are bothered by Madonna’s adoption, is not because she is adopting a baby who’s race is different from hers and her husband’s. There is a sense that because she is wealthy and famous, she was able to avoid laws and rules that most people without her resources abide by.

The bother has nothing to do with race. It’s all about disparity of income and lifestyle. She’s rich. Most people aren’t that rich. She gets to do things most other people can’t. That is hard for some people to accept.