The New Minority
In my latest publication entitled, If You Only Knew: Navigating DNA Surprises & The NPE World, I address the recent creation of a New Minority. This group has evolved from the process of DNA testing and are known as NPEs (Not-Parent Expected).
Early on this group of people were associated with the term Non-Paternal Event but the name was changed because through testing people were also learning about maternal surprises. It did not seem fair that the guys would get all the credit for the lies because different mothers were being discovered as well. The shame of divorce, pregnancy out of wedlock or a mother dying during childbirth with another woman stepping in are just a few examples attributed to this phenomenon.
In genetics, a non-paternity event can also be called misattributed paternity and is the situation in which someone who is presumed to be an individual’s parent is not, in fact, the biological parent. This presumption of a person being an NPE is a subset of misattributed parentage experience. It could be on part of the individual, the parents, a physician, midwife, or nurse.
An NPE may be the result of sperm donation, undisclosed adoption, promiscuity, paternity fraud, sexual assault, surrogacy, medical mix-ups, in vitro fertilization, heteropaternal superfecundation or artificial insemination.
However, the situation occurs, this group of people is growing exponentially due to DNA testing. In many cases, tests are being conducted as a lark and for fun within a family. Only to discover a huge surprise within the outcome of the test proving that a person is not related to the group in the genetic way everyone had presumed.
As this is occurring, we are seeing the evolution of a New Minority. The NPE is a part of a population that is different from the rest of the population because of the DNA discovery. A minority is presented when a distinct group coexists but is subordinate to a more dominant group. Often these minorities are subjected to differential treatment. This treatment is often at the hands of family members that someone grew up with all their lives or can come from newly found biological family members.
The treatment can be positive but often can be prejudiced, unfair and discriminatory. All actions are obviously unnecessary and outrageous on behalf of the Non-NPE that might be dishing out the bias behavior toward the NPE.
In this world of inclusion, acceptance, and diversity, this is an entirely unique culture: a culture that crosses all genders, races, religions, colors, and nationalities. There is no place for discrimination in this culture because all NPEs are equally confused and seeking the same outcome in most cases.