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“It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867614138933444608 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | De Freitas, Alexia Julia |
| author2 | Majombozi, Ziyanda |
| author_browse | De Freitas, Alexia Julia Majombozi, Ziyanda |
| author_facet | Majombozi, Ziyanda De Freitas, Alexia Julia |
| author_sort | De Freitas, Alexia Julia |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134586 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:47:17.083Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134586 “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption De Freitas, Alexia Julia Majombozi, Ziyanda Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Adoption -- Psychological aspects Adoptive parents -- Family relationships Adoption -- Social aspects Families -- Psychological aspects Parent and child UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. De Freitas, A. J. 2025. “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/fd8db954-bfcf-41c1-a60d-736ab11cfa18 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research presented in this thesis provides an in-depth anthropological examination of the complex nature of adoption and explores the conceptualisation and formation of adoptive families. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with nine same-race adoptive parents, this research suggests that, although adoption is often framed as a response to issues with infertility, the desire and decision to adopt are both shaped and prompted by sociocultural norms and expectations regarding family, resemblance, and legitimacy. Key themes include kinship formation, visual and symbolic markers of familial similarity, naming practices, and the negotiation of familial legitimacy within institutional and bureaucratic frameworks, such as adoption types and policies like the 60-day waiting period. The thesis argues that adoption involves the creation and negotiation of affinities aimed at family-making and reinforcing familial legitimacy. This is illustrated through practices such as naming and renaming, as well as the significance of visual resemblances and shared physical characteristics. This research offers an alternative perspective for understanding adoptive kinship that extends beyond the dominant focus on transracial adoptions. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar nie. Masters 2025-12-15T10:05:35Z 2025-12-15T10:05:35Z 2025-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134586 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 58 pages : illustrations application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Adoption -- Psychological aspects Adoptive parents -- Family relationships Adoption -- Social aspects Families -- Psychological aspects Parent and child UCTD De Freitas, Alexia Julia “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption |
| title | “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption |
| title_full | “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption |
| title_fullStr | “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption |
| title_full_unstemmed | “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption |
| title_short | “It was the final thing to make her ours”: Making Family through Adoption |
| title_sort | it was the final thing to make her ours making family through adoption |
| topic | Adoption -- Psychological aspects Adoptive parents -- Family relationships Adoption -- Social aspects Families -- Psychological aspects Parent and child UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT defreitasalexiajulia itwasthefinalthingtomakeheroursmakingfamilythroughadoption |