ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the construction of 'race' by examining its relationships with other social signifiers such as origin, social class, gender, nationality, and ableism. Using an intersectional approach, the chapter shows how 'racially marked' characters are often placed in subordinated positions among different axes of difference exploring at the same time how these books may be regarded as narrative strategies to recode and resist these categorizations. The chapter examines the makings and unmakings of 'race' not only within adoption discourses but also in relation to migration. It also explores integration narratives offered to children with migrant backgrounds and how girls are presented as desiring to be White and blonde to fit into a supposedly widespread ideal of beauty. The chapter looks briefly into the local mothers as figures that may 'whiten' their racially marked children.
