Adoptee from China celebrates her bat mitzvah

Taualumna · #1 03-10-2007, 12:56 AM

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Of the 613 laws in the Torah, the one that appears most often is the directive to welcome strangers. The girl once known as Fu Qian has been thinking about that a lot lately.

Rite of Passage Three weeks ago, she stood at the altar of her synagogue on the Upper West Side and gave a speech about it.

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Do you think this really should have made the news? If Cecelia was Catholic and being confirmed, I really don't think it would have made the NYT.

Drolefille · #2 03-10-2007, 01:32 AM

From the article

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Fu Qian, renamed Cecelia Nealon-Shapiro at 3 months, was one of the first Chinese children — most of them girls — taken in by American families after China opened its doors to international adoption in the early 1990s. Now, at 13, she is one of the first to complete the rite of passage into Jewish womanhood known as bat mitzvah.

It's in the City/Region section and there's a small milestone involved with the opening of adoption from China. On one hand I agree with you, but on the other Confirmation parties are hardly as entertaining as some of the Bat Mitzvahs I've seen. Particularly the ones that reach a "My Super Sweet 16" status. I've never see a Confirmation party be more than a back yard barbecue or small catered thing for family/friends.

Also the article seems to be about the phenomenon of being Chinese and Jewish which as one says is normal to her, but weird for her to actively think about.

UGAalum94 · #3 03-10-2007, 03:04 PM

She's a Chinese girl adopted by a lesbian Jewish couple. It's a multicultural trifecta.

Yea!

Taualumna · #4 03-10-2007, 03:22 PM

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Originally Posted by Drolefille

From the article
It's in the City/Region section and there's a small milestone involved with the opening of adoption from China. On one hand I agree with you, but on the other Confirmation parties are hardly as entertaining as some of the Bat Mitzvahs I've seen. Particularly the ones that reach a "My Super Sweet 16" status. I've never see a Confirmation party be more than a back yard barbecue or small catered thing for family/friends.

OK, let's change it slightly. Say Cecelia was adopted by a Mexican-American family and she was celebrating her quinceanera (I know this isn't a religious celebration per se, but often girls are blessed by their priests at Mass). Would it have made the the city/regional section of the paper? Would she have made the news as a debutante? I could see a profile of her for the latter, but not an entire article.

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She's a Chinese girl adopted by a lesbian Jewish couple. It's a multicultural trifecta.

Yea!

One of her moms used to be Catholic. Makes it even more multicultural!

GeekyPenguin · #5 03-11-2007, 02:22 PM

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Originally Posted by Taualumna

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Do you think this really should have made the news? If Cecelia was Catholic and being confirmed, I really don't think it would have made the NYT.

No, because Catholic people have missionaries and there have been Chinese Catholics for centuries - there's even a Chinese Cardinal.

Drolefille · #6 03-11-2007, 04:48 PM

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Originally Posted by Taualumna

OK, let's change it slightly. Say Cecelia was adopted by a Mexican-American family and she was celebrating her quinceanera (I know this isn't a religious celebration per se, but often girls are blessed by their priests at Mass). Would it have made the the city/regional section of the paper? Would she have made the news as a debutante? I could see a profile of her for the latter, but not an entire article.

One of her moms used to be Catholic. Makes it even more multicultural!

I would suspect a Chinese adoptee's quincearana would make the same level of news coverage. Probably not in NYC because I don't think that quincearana's are big there. But I'm not sure about that. I'm not really sure what your point is here. That it's only in the news because it's Jewish? That it's only in the NYT because it's Jewish? That NYC has a fairly large concentrated population of Jewish people?

I do highly suspect that the lesbian/Jewish/Chinese thing has something to do with it, but half of "local interest" stories require the reporters hearing about something and saying "Hey wouldn't it be neat to write a story about X"

ZTAngel · #7 03-11-2007, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taualumna

Do you think this really should have made the news? If Cecelia was Catholic and being confirmed, I really don't think it would have made the NYT.

Who cares? I'm not seeing what the big deal is.

Taualumna · #8 03-11-2007, 07:32 PM

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Originally Posted by ZTAngel

Who cares? I'm not seeing what the big deal is.

I just thought it was interesting that it made the NYT at all. I don't see the big deal either. It shouldn't matter that she's Jewish or that her mothers are a lesbian couple because it wouldn't have made the NYT if her parents were straight and/or Christian.

Drolefille · #9 03-11-2007, 08:04 PM

Human Interest stories are interesting not NEWS. I open up the paper on Monday morning and there's always some story about some 85 year old guy who collects pictures of cats riding tractors. Or some people who've hand painted those geese that sit in people's lawns for the past 50 years. They aren't news they're human interest. People apparently like hearing about other people who do things differently from themselves. The NYT is not just a national newspaper, it's a city paper that has to appeal to its residents.

I don't know why you're suprised that it discusses life in NYC in the NYT.

Taualumna · #10 03-11-2007, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Human Interest stories are interesting not NEWS. I open up the paper on Monday morning and there's always some story about some 85 year old guy who collects pictures of cats riding tractors. Or some people who've hand painted those geese that sit in people's lawns for the past 50 years. They aren't news they're human interest. People apparently like hearing about other people who do things differently from themselves. The NYT is not just a national newspaper, it's a city paper that has to appeal to its residents.

I don't know why you're suprised that it discusses life in NYC in the NYT.

But why is this interesting though? Because she's adopted? Because there aren't too many Chinese Jews? A Russian adoptee's bat mitvah would not have been there, would it?

UGAalum94 · #11 03-11-2007, 08:56 PM

Yes, it's interesting because for the most part Chinese people aren't Jewish. It's a story that points out the unique multifaceted or fluid nature of identity in the US. One can take for granted the experience of being a member of two groups that usually don't overlap.

CutiePie2000 · #12 03-12-2007, 12:15 AM

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Originally Posted by Taualumna

But why is this interesting though? ......Because there aren't too many Chinese Jews?

YES.

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Originally Posted by Taualumna

A Russian adoptee's bat mitvah would not have been there, would it?

Hmmm....Being Russian *AND* being Jewish, would it surprise you that yes, such people exist?? I guess you've never seen "Fiddler on the Roof", huh.
Now go watch this "You-Tube" video of "Tradition" from Fiddler.......a catchy little ditty, if ever there was one.

Kevlar281 · #13 03-12-2007, 04:56 PM

Well considering the demographic of the NYT’s readership, no I’m not surprised one bit that they did a story on this.

Drolefille · #14 03-12-2007, 05:15 PM

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Originally Posted by Taualumna

But why is this interesting though? Because she's adopted? Because there aren't too many Chinese Jews? A Russian adoptee's bat mitvah would not have been there, would it?

See the other responses you've received, particularly the ones below.

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Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Yes, it's interesting because for the most part Chinese people aren't Jewish. It's a story that points out the unique multifaceted or fluid nature of identity in the US. One can take for granted the experience of being a member of two groups that usually don't overlap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

Well considering the demographic of the NYT’s readership, no I’m not surprised one bit that they did a story on this.

Russian Jews are not uncommon. Chinese-Americans who were adopted when their country first allowed the adoption of a subset of its population that is generally considered unwanted (aka female) are reaching a milestone in a religion that does not see a lot of Chinese-Americans or Chinese people in general, are uncommon and thus considered more "interesting." YMMV

I found it to be an interesting article and am thrilled that formerly unwanted children are now loved, taken care of, and accepted not only into their families but into the community as a whole.

I still don't understand your point. Because I know I don't go through the paper and say... that wasn't interesting, I'm going to post a thread about that. Quite the opposite really.
Your comments suggest you don't like the fact that her (their) ethnicity and culture both by birth and adoption affected the fact that this article was written. And I don't really understand why.

Taualumna · #15 03-12-2007, 06:05 PM

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Originally Posted by Drolefille

I still don't understand your point. Because I know I don't go through the paper and say... that wasn't interesting, I'm going to post a thread about that. Quite the opposite really.
Your comments suggest you don't like the fact that her (their) ethnicity and culture both by birth and adoption affected the fact that this article was written. And I don't really understand why.

I just think they're making a big deal out of nothing.