Voices of hidden children in customary adoption: The politics of identity under China’s one-child policy

Abstract

Due to the enforcement of the one-child policy, customary adoption was revised in rural China as a family strategy to resist state policies. Through the birth control campaign, peasant couples would temporarily give up their out-of-plan or unwanted children to the care of relatives or friends. Most existing studies on this phenomenon look at China’s population policies, but few studies pay attention to the families and individuals involved. Based on empirical data obtained from interviews and fieldwork conducted in Jiangli County, northern China, this article examines the subject of ‘hidden children’ in customary adoption at different levels. The identity of hidden children was created under various institutional and cultural forces and these hidden children live a life marred by discrimination, ambivalence, and other unique experiences. Although confronted by structural constraints from institutions and cultural norms, I argue that individuals actively adopt strategies to cope with these constraints rather than passively accept them. Thus, by exerting their agency, individuals continue to reshape and renegotiate their identities and life experiences.