LGBTQ+

NPR It’s Been a Minute: “Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American ‘Pride and Prejudice'”

This is a podcast by gay Korean adoptee Joel Kim Booster (comedian and actor). This episode explores how the film Fire Island honors queer friendships, subverts heteronormative themes, and tells a story which feels universal.

LGBTQ+

Asian Pride Project

This organization celebrates LGBTQ individuals and API families and communities through artforms. It tells the stories of LGBTQ triumphs and struggles in the API community. These artforms include short films and videos, photography and written word. This source applies to the Asian and Asian American community and the LGBTQ community. It is a source you can just scroll through and look at on your own time.

LGBTQ+

Gender Spectrum

Gender Spectrum is a source for anyone who is part of the queer community or would like to understand more about it. The organization works to create gender sensitive and inclusive environments for all children and teens. On the webpage you can find online consulting, groups, and plenty of resources.

LGBTQ+

Outfest

Outfest’s mission can apply to and most benefit the LGBTQ+ community. It is known as, “The world’s largest LGBTQ+ film and media organization.” The organization holds several programs, projects, and events for artists with its film festivals as its focus.

Media

The Drop Box (2015)

Pastor Lee Jong Rak is a pastor in South Korea. His ‘drop box’ is a space where children can be placed if the parent decides to give up their child. Throughout the film, Pastor Lee emphasizes the special value of each child’s life, and how God has a plan for the little ones. The documentary focuses on his work with adoption and the babies placed inside his ‘drop box’.

Media

Adopted (2008)

Adopted tells the story of two adoptees and their families. One family is a couple preparing for the adoption of a baby girl. The other, a 32 year old adoptee from Korea that has struggled to speak with her adoptive parents her whole life about adoption. The two stories are at opposite ends of the adoption process, but both stories converge to show that love alone is not enough to make a family work.

Media

Somewhere Between (2011)

A documentary on four different teenage girls adopted from China under the One Child Policy who are currently living in the United States. The film explores their struggles with racism, identity formation, belonging, and race and gender.

Media

Unlocking the Heart of Adoption (2002)

This is an hour-long documentary which chronicles the filmmaker’s journey as a birthmother and reveal the personal storeis of adoptees, birthparents, and adoptive parents. A wide variety of perspectives on adoption are explored, including the connections between birth families and adoptive families.

Media

Approved for Adoption (2012)

An animated film about a young Korean boy joining a Belgium family and his return to his birth country. The story follows him over the course of his life, and the times when his adoption influenced whether or not he felt accepted.

Media

Stuck (2013)

A documentary that follows four children from three different countries on their individual voyages from orphanages to their new homes with families in the United States. It explores the corruption and greed behind the adoption process as parents try to adopt kids but are blocked by outside efforts.

Resources