Jenn Hyslip Response to "Daddy & Papa"

The documentary film “Daddy & Papa” gave me the unique insight and opportunity to learn about something that I honestly do not give much thought to. As one woman interviewee says, “gay men are an untapped resource” when it comes to adoption. I would be curious to learn where in the United States gay men are chosen as adoptive parents, as to me, it seems as though this would be an extremely debated argument in some regions of the country. One part that I found shocking and kind of put things into perspective was the element of “testing” that goes on during the process of applying to become adoptive parents. They get interviewed many times and the background checks seem to be extremely complex and serious. While it makes complete sense for such tests to take place, it’s crazy to think that there isn’t any “testing” when it comes to biological parents and makes you think that maybe there should be some sort of program or interview that takes place before having children. On the other hand, these future adoptive parents are literally given a catalogue of children to pick form. One future parent even says well, “he has all the stats” as he looks at one profile. I guess the world of adoption is crazier and more unnatural than I thought, and something that I would be interested in learning more about. Another interesting fact of the film was that the adopted kids were African American boys. In the media, it is usually stereotyped that gay men always want to have a “little girl” like in the show “Modern Family”, the gay couple adopts an Asian girl. Although I understand that many of the adoptions were situational, it would have been interesting if the men in the film touched upon the topic of how they felt about adopting a white boy or a female. Additionally, it would be interesting if there were a segment that is later produced to see what their lives are like now, when the children grow up. Finally, I am very surprised that I have not seen many news stories in the media about this topic. However, maybe I just do not pay attention to such stories. Overall, I thought this was an unbelievably thought provoking documentary that sheds light on the life of extremely proud and successful parents that went through a daunting process, yet still prove to be unbelievable parents.