“Not Made in China”: A Podcaster’s Voice from the Adoptee Community
Growing up, Chinese-born adoptee Shaosheen always felt the support and care of her adoptive parents. They worked hard to help her stay connected to her cultural roots — she learned Mandarin from an early age because her mother, having lived in Wuhan for several years, speaks fluent Chinese and personally taught her up to GCSE level. She also grew up surrounded by many Chinese friends, some adopted and some not, which gave her a warm and diverse sense of community from childhood.
As she grew older, some of those cultural ties naturally loosened — something she sees as completely normal. But now, she is eager to rediscover the part of herself that belongs to the Chinese adoptee identity. She also realised that her understanding of adoption had always been limited to her own experience. If an adoptee knows so little about the broader adoption landscape, she wondered, how little must people outside the adoption world know?
With that curiosity and reflection, she launched her own podcast: Not Made in China.
The aim of the podcast is simple yet powerful — to make more adoption stories heard, from as many individuals, perspectives, and backgrounds as possible, and to show the complexity and reality of adoption beyond stereotypes.
“In adoption,” she says, “no two stories are the same. Nothing is black and white. You can’t generalise. Everyone’s experience is unique.”
Adoptees are often underrepresented in mainstream media, but Not Made in China hopes to slowly change that.
Shaosheen is now actively welcoming new guests — adoptees, adoptive parents, professionals working in adoption, or anyone whose life has been touched by adoption in any way.
If you have a story to share, she would love to hear from you.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and other major platforms.
You can also find her on Instagram or TikTok at notmadeinchinapodcast, or reach her by email at nmicpod@gmail.com.
May more voices be heard, and more stories be truly understood.