‘As Swedish as anybody else’ or ‘Swedish, but also something else’? Discourses on transnational adoptee identities in Sweden

The consequences of looking visibly ‘non-white’ are a recurrent theme in the accounts of many trans national adoptees in Sweden, who frequently find their Swedishness challenged in everyday life. The guidance and education material published by the Swedish Intercountry Adoption Authority (MIA) suggests a strategy of dealing with this by developing pride in the adoptees’ non-Swedish origin. The implicit message is that the Swedishness they are excluded from is not worth aspiring to and having additional national origins is more desirable. While this might seem to be a plausible strategy, it raises various problems. For example, despite official discourse on the value of multiculturalism, non-Swedishness in Sweden continues to have predominantly negative connotations. Further, it is a strategy that requires certain cultural and language competencies that are difficult to acquire. Judith Lind analyses the accounts of 22 young adult transnational adoptees in nine focus group discussions in relation to the recommendations made by the MIA. In so doing, she contextualises the Swedish recommendations by considering the background in which they were produced.