Sexist parenting
Sexist parenting (usually gender-selective abortion) is the preferring one gender of a child over the other, especially preference of sons over daughters. Many parents prefer to raise sons than to raise daughters, hence son preference. This can be due to many reasons. Daughters are often either aborted or disowned in some countries, especially China and India.
Son preference is common in China and India. The popularity of son preference in China may be due to the government's one-child policy. China exhibits high prevalence of son preference. Chinese tradition says that most parents want their first child to be born a male. Son preference is also due to deeply rooted Confucian traditions, and Chinese parents desire sons in order to make familial propagation, security for the elderly, labor provision, and performance of ancestral rites. Many of them retain the ancient Chinese belief, stating that "many sons bring much happiness." China calls the son preference situation the "missing girl" problem.
The popularity of son preference in India could be attributed to socioeconomic reasons. There is a mindset by some in India that female children are less worthy somehow as they are the ones to leave home and family when they marry. There is also influence from advertisements saying that it was better to spend $35 to $40 to terminate a female foetus than to spend $3,500 to $4,000 later on her dowry.
Studies in India have indicated three factors of son preference in India, which are the economic utility, sociocultural utility, and religious functions. The factor as to economic utility is that studies indicate that sons are more likely than daughters to provide family farm labor or provide in or for a family business, earn wages, and give old-age support for parents. Upon marriage, a son makes a daughter-in-law an addition and asset to the family providing additional assistance in household work and brings an economic reward through dowry payments, while daughters get married off and merit an economic penalty through dowry charges. The sociocultural utility factor of son preference is that, in India's patrilineal and patriarchal system of families is that having at least one son is mandatory in order to continue the familial line, and many sons constitute additional status to families. The final factor of son preference is the religious functions that only sons are allowed to provide, based on Hindu tradition. Hindu tradition says that sons are mandatory in order to kindle the funeral pyre of their late parents and to assist in the soul salvation.
Gender detection has been a booming business in India. Former American boxing champion Muhammad Ali was once asked by an interviewer how many children he fathered. He then answered: "One boy and seven mistakes." (one son and abort seven female foetuses that would have been daughters to him).
Prevalence
China
India
Consequences
Gender-selective abortion may make it more difficult for a generation to seek heterosexual romantic relationships. That happens years from the times of abortion after the children have grown up. Chinese men may likely find it difficult find themselves wives.External links