Born under X, in search of identity

I give birth to myself through creation. (Amandine Gay)

Starting from an intimate testimony concerning her birth under X and her adoption, Amandine Gay draws the thread of a large, historical phenomenon with multiple challenges: transnational and transracial adoption. In A Chocolate Doll (La Découverte, 2021) , an essay crossed by Afro-feminist and decolonial theories, she addresses not only the historical context of international adoption but also its political context.

It is easier to get into political subjects that are sometimes very controversial by going first into the lived experience. (Amandine Gay)

Adoption cannot be considered a detailed subject over time. (Amandine Gay)

Looking back on her childhood and adolescence, Amandine Gay discusses the challenges that adoption poses to adopted people and their adopting families: dealing with uprooting, the search for identity that results from it, systemic racism and sometimes contradictory belonging. to two different communities.

Today, we can take ownership of the narrative, show ourselves off and make sure that the next generations do not start from scratch. (Amandine Gay)

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