Jane Dratz’s article in The Christian Post got me to thinking about the ways in which the Madonna adoption is raising awareness of adoption in general.

The media usually slant their stories one of four ways:

Slant #1:
Adoption is the “it” thing to do among the rich and famous. Madonna is rich. Madonna is famous. Madonna is controversial. Madonna is adopting. Reporters portray adoption as a “fad” currently in vogue among the rich and famous. They harp on Madonna for using adoption as a publicity coup. The media tend to ignore the fact that the publicity coup they have generated the media coup for Madonna. They also ignore the fact that adoption involves real people, broken hearts, thoughtful decision-making, and myriad other factors.

Slant #2:
Adoption is bad. Human rights groups are protesting the Madonna adoption. No one is quite sure why they’re protesting, other than some vague references to the possibility that Madonna’s adoption may light a firestorm of child trafficking in third world countries. Some reporters insinuate that if human rights groups are protesting the Madonna adoption, then adoption in general must be a bad thing.

Slant #3:
Adoption is good. Madonna is rescuing an orphan. Millions of orphans are waiting to be adopted all over the world (not to mention the 120,000+ kids waiting in U.S. foster care). Get off your butts, people, take a shot of humanitarianism, and adopt, adopt, adopt! This overly enthusiastic portrayal of adoption makes adoption sound as if you just show up at an adoption agency, pick out the child you want, and bring him or her home a few days later. The process is slightly more complex than that, even for Madonna.

Slant #4:
People who adopt transracially are misguided. During one of the many talk shows Madonna has appeared on recently, she said:

“I think [racism] is underneath a lot of people's prejudice about me adopting David. I think a lot of people have a problem with the fact that I've adopted an African child, a child who has a different color skin than I do. ... I think it's still considered taboo. You know, I have people say to me on the streets, 'Why did you adopt a black child?' I don't say anything. I don't dignify their question with a reply. But there is a lot of racism in the world.”

For another interesting viewpoint on the Madonna adoption, see “Celebrities Adopting” by Martha Osborne in RainbowKids.com International Adoption E-Zine.

Source: The Christian Post, “How to Share Your Faith Using Madonna’s Adoption”

Related posts:
Using the 'Madonna' Adoption as a Springboard to Share Your Faith

Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie adopt from Malawi

Madonna Discusses Adoption on ‘Oprah’