Abigail Garner brought my attention to a New York Times article today about a Chinese adoptee celebrating her bat mitzvah. Garner writes:
Cecelia Nealon-Shapiro came to the U.S. in 1994 when she was adopted by a lesbian couple. What’s especially notable about this media coverage is that the questions of identity are centered around being Jewish and being Chinese, not about having lesbian mothers. Not that this is a “non-issue,” but it is refreshing to see an in depth story on a young woman with lesbian parents without it derailing the focus of the coverage.
Hear, hear—and the coverage is still relevant to many of our families, as it explores issues of identity and culture with a nuance not often seen in mainstream media. “Being Chinese and Jewish is normal for me,” says one of the girls interviewed. “Thinking about being Chinese and Jewish is a little strange.” I was also amused by a tidbit about another aspect of modern life creeping into a centuries-old ritual. In order to prepare for her bat mitzvah, Nealon-Shapiro “set her cantor’s reading of her Torah portion to ‘repeat’ on her iPod.” Worth a read.
