Together We Are Motherhood: Redefining Motherhood through Theatrical Narratives of Open Adoptions

Critical Adoption Studies scholars generally acknowledge that both birth and adoptive mothers share the role of motherhood. Despite this, most media reinforce a narrative of monomaternalism – the idea that a child can only have one mother. In playscripts with both birth and adoptive mothers, there is generally some form of competition, and one mother must eventually disappear for the other one to claim her rightful spot. But in actual open adoptions mothers work together to share the title of mom in the best interests of the adoptee. In this study, I analyze four plays: Kosher Lutherans by William Missouri Downs, Expecting Isabel by Lisa Loomer, The Baby Dance by Jane Anderson, and On the Other Hand, We’re Happy by Daf James to explore how two mothers in adoption are represented and how those representations can redefine motherhood. I interweave my analysis of the plays with stories I collected through interviewing birth and adoptive mothers who live in open adoptions. I use the mothers’ stories to counter some of the stereotypes that exist in the plays and to offer new insights into the way motherhood is represented and defined. In this study, I argue that mothers who live in open adoptions can help reconceive what it means to mother and that more theatrical works should represent and consider what open adoption families look like. By closely examining the way adoption is used to illuminate issues around mothering, this study pushes against the idea of monomaternalism and offers new insights into motherhood and new opportunities for representation.