Interview with Zoe Perkins, History 150 Spring 2022, Conducted by Mei Bell, March 4, 2022.

Biography

Zoe Perkins was born in China in 2002. At the age of one, she was adopted into an American family and thus moved to the United States. Her mother, father, and older brother are all of white ethnicity. Perkins originally lived in Vermont during her child hood, and then in middle school moved to Norther Virginia. She now attends James Madison University in Harrisonburg Virginia. Perkins works at Chick-Fil-A on her breaks and is majoring in Marketing. I will be interviewing Zoe about immigration and racial representation.

Overview to Social Change Interview:

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s there was a huge surge of Asian American adoptions, mainly from China and South Korea, to the U.S.

One of the causes was due to the “one-child policy”, where Chinese families were only allowed a single child. Many times families preferred a son due to the patriarchal structure of society where it fell on the sons to care for parents as they aged. The preference for boys resulted in many Chinese daughters being given up for adoption.

There were several problems associated with the adoption system that was implemented between China and the United States, including the fact that it was an economic transaction. Within the interview, problems covered include social stereotypes, representation, and feelings of displacement. Asians are often called the “model minority,” which is a “positive” stereotype that has the same impact as negative ones. This “model minority” stereotypes Asian Americans as quiet, obedient, and hard working. The idea of “model minority” categorizes Asian Americans as a “good” minority because they don’t cause disruptions or problems and do their work.

Many Asians (and adopted Asians) feel the pressure to conform to the stereotype of the model minority as well as feeling like a “fake” Asian because they were raised in a white household. Many of the interviews on our website focus on immigration, including the one below. Many immigration interviews focus on differences between locations, as well as an immigrants having an “out of place” feeling. This interview, like other immigration ones, also overlap with themes of race and ethnicity. Perkins is put into a unique situation with her Chinese “race” but “white ethnicity,” or cultural background.

While Perkin’s interview overlaps with common themes of displacement, adjustment, and stereotypes, it also discusses a new topic of representation in media and other nuances reflecting its era of the 2000 to 2020s.

Research:

In terms of research, I searched for sources that would give a bigger view about the surge of adoptions from Asian countries to the United States. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s there was a huge surge of Asian American adoptions (mainly from China and South Korea). There were several problems associated with the adoption system of China to America and it was very costly. Other problems discussed in the articles were the issue of Asians being the “model minority” and adoptees feeling a loss of identity. Asians are often considered the “model minority” meaning that that they work hard and don’t cause problems. A lot of adopted Asians still feel this pressure of the model minority as well as feeling like a “fake” Asian because they were raised in a white household. The research showed that the interviewees experience was not dissimilar to the other adoptees. Three out of four of my resources were peer-reviewed, and the fourth was found on the Colorado State University website.

Transcript:

Mei Bell 0:00
All right. All right, it is March 4 2022, at 3:22pm.

And I’m here with Zoe Perkins. How are you?

Zoe Perkins 0:10
I’m good. How are you?

Mei Bell 0:11
Good thanks. So we’re just going dive right into it. Can you describe your family growing up as in ethnicity, age, social class, etc.

Zoe Perkins 0:20
So, growing up, I grew up in the state of Vermont, and I had an older brother, and then my two parents, and I grew up in a predominantly white like environment. So being surrounded by that, and then looking at myself, I guess that definitely, like, impacted my thought process on certain things, but I never really, I never really thought much of it. Yeah.

Mei Bell 0:39
And you moved, right?

Zoe Perkins 0:41
Yeah. I moved to Virginia in 2012. So, I was nine turning 10.

Mei Bell 0:46
Okay, cool. Um, was it any different when you were in Virginia versus Vermont

Zoe Perkins 0:50
It was very different. So, Virginia was like a culture shock. The amount of like, diversity that was within my school in Virginia was a much larger percent than in Vermont. In Vermont, I would say like, it was me and like maybe one other kid who wasn’t white. But then Virginia, I would say like the minority were like white people. So, a lot. That was a big culture shock, I will say.

Mei Bell 1:13
And then progressing that to say, JMU, how do you say the difference from like say Vermont.

Zoe Perkins 1:21
JMU definitely has more diversity than Vermont, because like, Virginia, like NOVA [Northern Virginia] feeds into JMU. A lot more. So I do see like, some, some diversity here. But it’s definitely a decrease than what I was used to throughout, like middle school in high school.

Mei Bell 1:39
And you kind of answered this, but I want to dive deeper into it. This question, can you describe what it was like in your younger years, knowing that you were adopted, not that you weren’t Asian, but you were adopted?

Zoe Perkins 1:50
I never really thought much of being adopted growing up, because I was surrounded by a lot of families that were that had the same circumstances. Like, I kind of told you previously, I grew up next to a girl who was adopted. So I kind of just, I never really thought much of it because of how much it was in my life. I didn’t really think it was abnormal. But then I guess you could say when I moved to Virginia, when I met people, they would always say like, oh, you’re the first adopted person I met. So then it kind of hit me. I was like, oh, maybe it’s not that normal. But so growing up with that, I would say that was really nice, because it didn’t really make me feel like an outsider.

Mei Bell 2:25
Yeah, that’s interesting, because it happened when you were later on in life. Yeah, little connection. And your Were your parents always, like you’re adopted. I mean its not like…

Zoe Perkins 2:34
No, like my parents never. We like never like address like, oh, yeah, she’s adopted so blank. Like, I, they treated me as if it was like, I was biologically there’s, yeah.

Mei Bell 2:45
Cool, that’s great. Do you feel that like, your identity of being adopted has shaped you growing up, or like you said, your parents put it as a very like, it is what it is.

Zoe Perkins 2:59
I will say, like, when I was younger, my mom did try to, like, enforce the Chinese culture not enforced, like, try to keep the Chinese culture in my life so that I would know some, like, I’d be more connected to my roots, I guess. Like, I went to Chinese school for a long portion of my childhood, but I never really appreciated being Asian, I guess you could say until like, a few years ago. I like, I never really thought anything of it. But it definitely did shape me in certain ways. But I think as I got older, I started to appreciate being like, like, I started appreciating my culture more.

Mei Bell 3:37
Cool. And so that kind of goes into my next question. How do you feel that being Asian American has shaped you in different stages of your life? So your child, a teenager and young adult? Like, how is your feelings of being that and like, how you feel represented or even like your feelings on your heritage.

Zoe Perkins 3:58
I will say like, living in Virginia, I was surrounded by a lot more like I was surrounded by Asian Americans that grew up in an Asian environment. So they had more of like, they had more knowledge of their culture. So I felt like a fraud sometimes because I looked this way, but then I was clueless on certain things. And I am friends with a lot of people that did grew up in an Asian environment. And then if I ever went over to their house or anything, like obviously, I look Asian, so their parents try to relate to me on certain levels, but then I would be clueless. So that definitely did like impact certain things that I felt like, I kind of felt like like, my identity on the outside didn’t really match with how I was on the inside. But I never really was like, Oh, I’m different because I’m adopted. If that makes

Mei Bell 4:47
Yes. But there is a you’re you’re saying there is a little feeling of like the difference between being Asian American and an adopted Asian.

Zoe Perkins 4:56
Yeah, definitely.

Mei Bell 4:58
So you answered this one, how different between your peers and friends that were not adopted, whether they were white or Asian with Asian families? I don’t know if you want to clarify anything on that with this specific question, because I know we’ve talked about it a little bit in the last one.

Zoe Perkins 5:13
I would say like, the only thing that differentiates me from like an Asian American that grew up with an Asian, like household is that just certain things in my culture, I guess, because I’m more, I’m more knowledgeable on like, American traditions. And like, in Chinese New Year, you know, came around and everything, I didn’t really do anything for that. And like, I guess, some generic things that a lot of like, American families know, like, I would always, I would relate more to some people than others, even though I looked more like someone else.

Mei Bell 5:46
Yeah, totally. So one thing I also wanted to focus on during this interview was representation, which I feel like could be different through your years. So I’m going to focus on when you were younger, were there any Asian American figures you felt connected to like? It could be think, huge, wide range from like Hollywood to your next door neighbor.

Zoe Perkins 6:09
Actually, when I was about like, eight years old, I was in this program where you were given like an older like a sister or brother like figure and they were an Asian American at like a college. So in Vermont, I always every weekend, I went down to Champlain College, or Middleburg Middlebury. But I was there, yeah, I was paired with this girl, her name was Jillian. And she was an Asian American. And the program was just help like, kids that maybe missing that in their life, and or that figure in their life. So she was definitely some representation that I had, that helped, like expose me to the culture and everything. And that was really nice. And like, I kept in touch with her throughout years. And like, we always send emails back and forth. And then also, like, my Chinese school, my Chinese teacher was Amy. She was like a good family friend. So she was like, a nice figure to have that embraced the culture and everything. And I would always go to like events for that. And it was nice to be a part of something that like, has something to do with like my culture.

Mei Bell 7:10
Yeah so cool. Did you have any that were like you saw on TV or anything when you were younger?

Zoe Perkins 7:18
I remember. Well, obviously, like when I watched Mulan, my parents really liked. I was like, Oh, look, but I remember when I watched Princess Protection Program, did you watch that? Oh, yeah, I forgot her name. But she was like, one of the characters and she was Asian. And I was like, Oh, she’s really pretty. Like, I would never really like idolize people further. Like, I wouldn’t really like try and scout out like Asian people, if that makes sense. Yeah, cuz I didn’t view people. I was like, Oh, they’re one race. But like, definitely noticed in crowds if there was like, an Asian, I guess.

Mei Bell 7:57
So I just wanted to circle back the fact that you moved from Vermont, to Virginia. Did your representation in like your communities, like you’re talking about how you had your Chinese teacher and then that girl at Champlain College? Did you have any other representative figures that like, do you feel you got more or less, if that makes sense?

Zoe Perkins 8:17
Definitely. When I moved to Virginia, and as I got older, I definitely got more like Asian representation, especially with who I started to become friends with and everything and like, things I would do, they would start to like, I guess, like culture me in a way. And I definitely think within the past, like two to three years, I have appreciated like, being Asian a lot more. And I’ve taken more of an interest in the learning about like, my culture and everything and like, trying like new foods and everything, just kind of incorporating into my everyday life rather than trying to like resent something.

Mei Bell 8:53
And why do you think you feel more open to it and more appreciative?

Zoe Perkins 8:56
I think just that as I got older, and I just started also seeing like, on media and everything, I think a lot more representation within like the Asian community really sparked it, like it took off within the past few years. And I think that’s also what made me really like it. Like when I watched Crazy Rich Asians [2018 movie that increased Asian American representation], I really liked that movie. And it made me like, it made me feel good to be Asian, which I really liked. And also like, growing up, I like never like the color of my hair or anything. So then I changed that. And then recently, I’ve gone back to my natural and I like it a lot more. And like looking back, I’m like, I should never like try and change anything about my appearance. But.

Mei Bell 9:42
Yeah, the representation is really big. So can you I’m going to kind of circle back to even the beginning beginning because we’ve gotten to like current time, but can you explain to me your understanding of your adoption and I’m talking when you were in China specifically if that helps.

Zoe Perkins 10:08
So I was, I was adopted when I was about 14 months old. And I was born in even city like the Sichuan Province. And I was in an orphanage prior to my parents like getting me and everything, but I don’t like obviously, I don’t remember anything. And I haven’t been back to China since. And my parents always asked me if I want to go back. And like, we could always visit the orphanage and everything. And like, we I think they’re still in contact with their tour guide, and also, like, my nanny. Yeah, but so like, going back would be nice. I don’t know if I necessarily want to do that right now, just China’s not like the best place to be. But, um, when I was younger, also, my parents never had to like specifically say to me, “You’re adopted”, because yeah, it was kind of obvious. And I think going back to like, how I said, growing up next door to that girl, who was also adopted, and like staying in the circle, with the travel group that my parents went to the get, all of us, I think that really helped me understand being adopted a bit more rather than being isolated from that, because it made me realize like, oh, yeah, there are other people in the world who have like my same situation.

Mei Bell 11:29
And so it seems like you have a pretty good understanding of how you grew up and like, who you are as a person now. So I want to connect that to how you feel that you’re going to utilize your social diversity in your future even with jobs, like any social change anything, because you have this great story, in this great social diversity. And you are in a unique position that there are a lot of girls in this position as well. But I want to know how you are going to use it in your future,

Zoe Perkins 12:00
I definitely think that if you are adopted from any country, or anywhere, and you’re put in a household where you may not necessarily align with how they like, live life, or anything, or like it wouldn’t be as normal circumstance, I think you can definitely use that to your advantage to show like, I may have grown up in one way, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t, like, stay true to like your culture, anything and that you can learn and, and you can still like, stay true to your roots if you truly want to, and that there’s nothing wrong if you don’t want to do that. But I do think that also, it’s very fascinating to me when I do meet other people who are adopted, because sometimes you can meet someone and from the outside, they don’t appear one way. But then you learn something about them. And it’s like, oh, but it doesn’t change anything about them. Like, in some situations, I guess like in school or anything, people have always been like, Oh, why is your name that way? But some people just assume like, Oh, I’m like Wasian [White and Asian]. Or like one parents, the other people have asked my parents that. But I definitely think if you’re in like an environment where you need to collaborate with people, especially in school, or anything like you can educate them on the topic, rather than ignoring it or pushing it off.

Mei Bell 13:17
Yeah, definitely. Well, that wraps up the questions. Do you have any last things that you felt are imperative that we left out to understand your story and who you are?

Zoe Perkins 13:29
I think you covered everything. I just think that when people learn that someone is adopted, it’s like, they have like all these questions. And sometimes they’re not worded the most in the most polite way that sense. But I truly think that no matter if you’re adopted, or if you’re not, it doesn’t really change the fact that like you still have a family and everything. I think that’s just important for people that know that. No matter who you grew up with biological or not, they’re still your like your parents.

Mei Bell 13:59
Yeah.

Zoe Perkins 14:00
Well, thank you.

Mei Bell 14:01
Great. Thank you so much for your time.

Interview Technology and Process.

I did my interview in person so I used a handheld audio recording device rented from Carrier Library. Zoe Perkins and I found a secluded spot and conducted the interview on the planned day. I then uploaded the audio to Otter.ai and let it transcribe for me. I did not have to edit any of the audio, just a few words from the transcription were off. The process was simple and easy.

Transcription Process

Otter.ai transcribed the audio recording for the most part. There were a couple places where words had to be fixed. In parts where the interviewee and interviewer spoke over each other I only included the interviewees words because they are the focus. Extra “uhms” were not included in the transcription because I felt that they were not necessary for understanding who the interviewee is. I used brackets to explain things that might not be commonly known information.

Bibliography

Andrew, Anita M. “China’s Abandoned Children and Transnational Adoption: Issues and Problems for U.S.-China Relations, Adoption Agencies, and Adoptive Parents.” Journal of Women’s History, vol. 19, no. 1, 2007, pp. 123–31. EBSCOhost, doi.org/10.1353/jowh.2007.0001.