Using concepts from Catherine Sheldrick Ross’s “Finding without Seeking: The Information Encounter in the Context of Reading for Pleasure,” a convenience sample of 129 romance novels about secret babies is examined to determine what information is imparted about the processes by which adoptees and birth parents search for each other.
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The presence of adoption themes and issues in romance fiction inspired a study to discover if the information included was similar to or different from factual information on adoption. (266)
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The actual number of published romances that deal with adoption in some way, not just reunions, is unknown, although obviously larger than the definition-restricted sample studied here. Thus it is difficult to claim with any certainty that this topic has overwhelming popularity and demand among romance readers, although it is clear that secret babies do, given the persistence of the trope in the genre. The thirty-five-year span of publication dates in the sample leads to an average of four books a year specifically on adoption reunion themes during that time. Further inquiry gleaned from editors’ records reveals that Harlequin published 909 secret baby books, variously called by editors “plots with secret baby,” “secret child,” “secret baby/child,” and “secret pregnancy” from 1981 to 2013, which averages twenty-eight per year. While this seems a very small percentage of overall Harlequin publishing production, since publishing output totaled 1,320 titles in 2013 alone, the consistent production of these types of stories over that time period is noteworthy not only to demonstrate the enduring popularity of the trope but also of adoption reunion themes.
Without comparable records before 1978, it is impossible to claim that adoption reunion romance stories have grown in tandem with the adoptee rights movement and the growth of publicity about adoptee search and reunions on shows such as Pamela Slayton’s on the Oprah Winfrey network. If anything, the current study just shows the persistence of the secret baby trope and the consistent percentage of secret baby books on adoption reunion themes over the specific time period studied. (270)
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In terms of information-seeking, adoption reunion romances do provide in the aggregate mostly the same information on adoption searching as that recounted in true memoirs and adoption search manuals, even if the information is not the primary reason for reading the books, and even if the accurate factual information is framed by romance conventions. What is missing from this textual study and might be the topic of future studies is the reader response to the information incidentally provided. Possibilities might be validation of feelings, help with accepting a situation unable to be changed, getting the courage to make a change, or just increasing empathy for women who have surrendered children, or for their children. (270)
Here's the abstract:
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