given any prevailing social and political climate, there are always hegemonic attitudes that forbid the discussion of certain basic ethical questions, and i believe that the identity crime at the heart of #adoption is one of them—and has been for at least 80 years in the USA.

BREAKING: Here is the anti-trans sex/gender executive order. It's extensive, it's bad, and it's often lawless. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential... And, do not miss in "d" and "e" below, it even tries to put in the beginnings of a personhood argument, for some reason.

A helpful thing to remember, or at least it has been for me: in hard times, there will be discrete moments—maybe lots of them—where you experience love and joy and community. It is no sin to enjoy them, and arguably more of one to refuse them.

Why tf has the ERA not been enshrined yet???

Donald Trump tapped Kimberly Guilfoyle as the United States Ambassador to Greece. Sooooo... Don Jr. reportedly cheated on her and dumped her for a socialite, and Donald thinks it's a great idea to give her a job as an ambassador? Clown. Show.

Right?

🧵 @llmunro.bsky.social gave me permission to recreate her outstanding Twitter thread of writings about the history of family separation + plenary adoption as it’s practiced in the US. It also includes additions from others on Adoptee Twitter. Here we go!

Never get tired of repeating this: You cannot be an intersectional feminist and anti-racist and also support the adoption and surrogacy industries. #adoption #adoptee #adopteevoices 🥚

just don’t invoke the slogan “love is what makes a family” in connection with #adoption. If that slogan has any meaning, it refers to the reciprocity in the concept of chosen family. Most adoptees never had a choice. There is no reciprocity when you’re trafficked as a baby.

Don’t get raped and fall pregnant especially as a minor.. gofund.me/aae3cb43

From @kwistent.bsky.social ‘s forthcoming THE SUN WON’T COME OUT TOMORROW, a history of orphanhood in the USA. Adopted people will want to read this book for the way Martin’s analysis connects with the abolitionist emphasis on #adoption as a privatized solution to systemic social harms.

Hi new pals! I am a cultural critic based in Philadelphia, and my first book, THE SUN WON'T COME OUT TOMORROW: THE DARK HISTORY OF AMERICAN ORPHANHOOD, comes out the day after the inauguration (gulp). bookshop.org/p/books/the-... (1/2)

Big corporate is super happy to get back to the status quo - keeping you distracted whilst totally fucking you six ways from Sunday.

Elon Musk, with his 4-year-old son X-Æ-12, appeared together on Capitol Hill Thursday for a DOGE meeting—but you can call him ‘Human Shield,’ it’s easier to pronounce.

I am both heartened and a little scared by how many recipe ideas people had ready to go for this, and at least 3 vegetarians offered to do the cooking. There are even some side dish suggestions. You people are awesome 😂

Jesus fucking Christ 😳

Maybe don't run your business such that every customer is a potential suspect in your shooting. Follow me for more life tips.

It sucks that I can't be my bio parents kid. That the law says I belong to someone else because, well, they bought me. 🥚

🥚"Adoption is not merely a loss of familial bonds – it is a rewriting of identity at the most fundamental level.... For adoptees, embracing a “true self” is not a straightforward journey; it is a battle against a system that has deliberately severed the roots of identity." medium.com/thoughtless-...

“Our ancestors did more, with less, against worse”* is a great mantra for the days ahead. So how about telling #adoptees who our ancestors are so we too can feel historically moved to action? Or you know just give us our birth certificates. We’ll take it from there. 🥚 * @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social

reminder to all #adoptees: No one* is coming to help us tell our stories. If people start to pay attention, it will only be because WE force them to. Speak, write, do research, make art, music, find community. Be visible. People in this adoption-besotted country prefer to look away. Don’t let them.

Yes, yes I do. 🥚

I seriously LOVE this picture. :)

🧵

people who cry “parents’ rights” assume that children are property, objects of dominion; they are asserting their dominion over that of the state. i prefer as a parent to talk about my responsibilities to my children rather than my rights over them, since no human being is another’s property.

🥚

The trickle-down myth is deeply embedded in the American psyche and it’s beyond time to excise it.

What if our votes were weighted on a curve favoring success? Letting OK set policy for MA seems self-destructive, and yet the Electoral College is selecting for failure.

NEW: Formaldehyde contributes more to outdoor cancer risk than any other toxic air pollutant in the US. It comes from cars, trucks, planes and a combination of emissions cooked in the atmosphere. For the first time, EPA modeled this risk down to the census block — and we mapped it.

Adoption agencies oppose open records because they fear giving adopted people these basic human rights will threaten their business.

Adoption and human trafficking: spot the difference

Something I wish every parent understood, especially on days like today: Forced gratitude is not gratitude. Kids are not going to be grateful for every damn thing in life. You can’t teach gratitude by trying to force someone to feel how you feel.

I was adopted at birth and raised in an “open” adoption. Most adoption agencies and facilitators have spent the past 30 or so years saying “open” adoption is a great thing and a win-win-win for adopters, natural parents and adopted people. Here’s what they don’t tell you about open adoption

OMG 😮 That was one helluva game! Congrats to the Bulldawgs #collegefootball #SEC

Overall I think Pete seems like a great guy with sound politics, but this ain’t it. ‘Building a family’ with other people’s children, aka #adoption, is not *family values*. No one is owed a child. #adoptionistrauma 🥚

Drop a 💙 if you'd like a follow back. I'll FB if I recognize you from the other place...or I'll skim your bio and a few posts to make sure you're not a psychopath. Also, updated starter pack below to help you find more good folks. Follow each other. Grow your voices here. go.bsky.app/QoxQfM5

Adopted people are here to warn you from our own lived experience that surrogacy is not a ‘win-win’ for the newborn. #preverbaltrauma #forced #seperation #repeathistory thewest.com.au/news/wa/prem...

🥚 youtu.be/zqCoMRUKVao?...

Always worth another read. #adoptionistrauma 🥚 @notalegalrecord.net www.notalegalrecord.net/archive/four...

Haymarket Books 40% off every book sale, including eight of mine (and Hope in the Dark is still a free download at Haymarket for another week or so). Two more or less for kids in the mix (and yeah, that's a holiday gifts hint).

#adoption 🥚

For some years now, I’ve maintained a list of sources related to adoptee-focused research, critical adoption studies, and loosely related topics that intrigue me. In time, I’ll recreate the thread of items below, but the document is a better starting point. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Welcome new followers! I know a lot of you are “old” followers from Twitter but can’t tell how many. For those who are, I don’t know what you may or may not know about my recent trajectory. If you don’t need this thread, please ignore it; if you’d like an “orientation” of sorts, please read on!

The only time Meta does anything worthwhile is when it feels threatened— in this case by Bluesky. Otherwise it’s perfectly content to ignore its user base indefinitely.

To Slep, Purrchance to Clean A play in one act wherein neither sleep nor dreams happen. Featuring: A Cat Me, The Uncanny Me is chasing an elusive state called sleep. Cat: (by Me's ear) Slep, slup, slurp, mlem, mlur, shlorp. (pause) Me: ... Cat: Blep, blahf, shlop, shlorf, velcrofur, velcrofur.

i just saw someone on here promoting their substack piece in which they propose that people who want to raise children should, regardless of their ability to conceive, select others to donate gametes for the purpose. no i will not link to it. i’m gonna log off and read a book now 🥚

Talk about whitewashing history…

Shocked! Shocked I say! 🫠🫠🫠