White Unwed Mother: The Adoption Mandate in Postwar Canada by Valerie J. Andrews (review)

Abstract

abstract:This review addresses Valerie Andrews's book White Unwed Mother: The Adoption Mandate in Postwar Canada. Andrews's account is both historical and scholarly and makes an important contribution to the field of critical feminist adoption studies. This work offers readers insight into the social, legal, and historical precedents set in Canada in the years following World War Two that established modern adoption practices and created a system of violence toward women. The book is an exploration of the way that adoption and feminism should be linked in the literature about adoption and serves as a call to action for those who research and study adoption as a cultural phenomenon. This review evaluates the author's approach and her contribution to the field of adoption studies.