TikTok Oblivion, FAFO, and the Adoption Industrial Complex:

The Fight Against Erasure and Forced Narratives

4 min readJan 4, 2025

If you’re a TikTok user who values the platform’s ability to amplify underrepresented voices, it’s time to take action. Support #AdopteeVoices and other marginalized communities who use TikTok to challenge systemic injustices and speak truths that many would rather ignore. The fight to keep TikTok alive is about more than entertainment – it’s about protecting spaces where truth-telling and connection thrive. Don’t let those who fear change and accountability silence the platform that empowers millions.

Why Adoptee Voices Matter More Than Ever

The United States is on the brink of TikTok Armageddon. Following a federal appeals court ruling, the Chinese-owned social media giant faces a January 2025 ban unless ByteDance sells its stake. This ban, cloaked in national security rhetoric, could silence 170 million American users – including the marginalized voices that rely on TikTok to challenge systemic narratives. And adoptees? They’re right at the heart of it, pushing back against systems that have commodified their lives while shouting #FAFO at anti-abortion crusaders who think adoption is the cure-all for unwanted pregnancies.

Because here’s the thing: If you think adoption is the feel-good Hallmark movie ending to forced birth policies, you’re the problem. And adoptees, armed with lived experience and TikTok’s megaphone, are here to make sure you know it.

TikTok as the Adoptee Voice Amplifier

TikTok isn’t just for dance challenges and recipes; it’s become a digital soapbox for marginalized communities, including #AdopteeVoices. For adoptees, the platform has been revolutionary, allowing them to:

Share unfiltered truths about the trauma of identity erasure.
Challenge pro-adoption narratives pushed by evangelical and anti-abortion groups.
Organize for adoption reform and truth-telling initiatives.

But the TikTok ban threatens to snatch this platform away, much like adoption itself erases identity. The parallels aren’t lost on adoptees. Once again, systems that claim to “protect” are silencing those who dare to speak out about the harm they cause.

Forced Birth Meets Adoption Lies

Let’s not kid ourselves: the anti-abortion movement isn’t about saving babies. It’s about controlling bodies and pushing the narrative that adoption is a perfect solution for unwanted pregnancies. But ask any adoptee, and they’ll tell you: adoption isn’t a solution – it’s a lifelong sentence of grief, disconnection, and systemic exploitation.

Here’s what they’re fighting against:

Adoption Over Abortion Lies:

Anti-abortion crusaders glorify adoption as a gift, conveniently ignoring the lifelong trauma it inflicts on both adoptees and birth mothers.

The Commodification of Children:

Adoption agencies rake in billions while sealing records and falsifying birth certificates, erasing the child’s identity in the name of “forever families.”

The Erasure of Choice:

Adoption narratives push gratitude while silencing the voices of those most affected, perpetuating cycles of coercion and denial.

Adoptees on TikTok are flipping the script, saying loudly and clearly: abortion is a more humane choice than consigning a child to a life of systemic erasure.

FAFO:

The Adoptee Edition

To the anti-abortion, pro-adoption crowd, adoptees have one thing to say: FAFO – Find Out. They’ve been found out, alright. TikTok has exposed the dirty underbelly of the adoption industrial complex, from coercion of birth mothers to the multibillion-dollar profits adoption agencies make while claiming to “save lives.”

Adoptee TikTok isn’t just venting – it’s a full-blown revolution:

Calling Out Evangelical Hypocrisy:

The same groups forcing birth are the ones profiting off adoption, treating children as commodities to be exchanged for salvation points.

Demanding Family Preservation:

Adoptees are pushing for systems that support struggling parents instead of tearing families apart.

Exposing Forced Birth Trauma:

They’re drawing the line between anti-abortion policies and the adoption complex, showing how both rely on erasure and control.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The TikTok ban isn’t just about silencing a platform; it’s about silencing truth-tellers, especially those who challenge the narratives of power. For adoptees, TikTok has been a rare space to reclaim identity, tell their stories, and connect with others who understand the lifelong impact of adoption trauma.

But let’s be clear: even if TikTok disappears, adoptees won’t. Their voices will find new platforms, and their fight for justice will continue. Because adoption isn’t salvation, and erasure isn’t care. It’s time to dismantle the systems that perpetuate these lies, whether it’s TikTok bans, anti-abortion crusades, or the adoption industrial complex itself.

The message is simple: Stop silencing adoptees. Stop glorifying adoption. Start listening to the voices that know what’s at stake.