A few updates on sex selection – this is pretty strong evidence of how technology is being used to reinforce patriarchal systems in the developing world… Also a good example of how aid can have gendered consequences… read on!

In ‘Unnatural Selection’ by Mara Hvistendahl charts how the trend towards choosing boys over girls, largely through sex-selective abortions, is rapidly spreading across the developing world. Things are serious –

• The natural sex ratio at birth is 105 boys born for every 100 girls
• In India the sex ratio is 112 boys to 100 girls
• In China the ratio is 121 to 100.
• In places in China where 2 children are allowed, if the first child is a girl, the sex ratio of the second is 146 -100.

The bias towards boys has been estimated to have caused the “disappearance” of 160 million women and girls in Asia alone over the past few decades.

The unnatural skewing towards male populations has become so pronounced in recent decades that Hvistendahl, a writer for Science magazine, says it has given rise to a new “Generation XY”.

What’s the cause of sex selection?

Female infanticide has traditionally been common in India and China – with one study of Tamil Nadu in the mid 90s finding that approximately one fifth of families had admitted to ‘doing away’ with an unwanted female baby. More recently, new technologies have allowed for sex selective abortion – and again, just to take one study as an example, out of 8000 abortions, 7999 were female (see link below for stats)

It’s usual to blame cultural practices – a cultural preference for boys in traditionally patriarchal societies:

he bias against females in India is related to the fact that “Sons are called upon to provide the income; they are the ones who do most of the work in the fields. In this way sons are looked to as a type of insurance. With this perspective, it becomes clearer that the high value given to males decreases the value given to females.” The problem is also intimately tied to the institution of dowry in which the family of a prospective bride must pay enormous sums of money to the family in which the woman will live after marriage. Though formally outlawed, the institution is still pervasive.

Hvistendahl, however,  points out that the increase in abortions of female foetuses in Asia has only become possible with the import of new medical technologies – namely ultrasound  – which allows the early detection of a foetus’ sex – and such technologies have been imported by aid agencies such as the UN in order to combat global population growth.

What are the consequences?

It’s difficult to know with any certainty, as these imbalanced Asian sex ratios are only just manifesting themselves – but two possibilities stand out –

Firstly – according to this article –

over the next 20 years in large parts of Asia there will be an excess of males. In parts of China and India, there will be a 12–15% excess of young men. These men will remain single and will be unable to have families.

An additional problem is that many of these men are rural peasants of low socioeconomic class and with limited education . When there is a shortage of women in the marriage market, the women can “marry up,” inevitably leaving the least desirable men with no marriage prospects . So, in many communities today there are growing numbers of young men in the lower echelons of society who are marginalized because of lack of family prospects and who have little outlet for sexual energy. A number of commentators predict that this situation will lead to increased levels of antisocial behavior and violence and will ultimately present a threat to the stability and security of society.

Some commentators even argue that these men may find themselves heading into military organisations – leading to possible global instability.

The second consequence is increase in the trafficking of women – for either forced marriage or sex in prostitution – as those wealthy enough choose to either buy a permanent wife or a number of temporary liaisons. The total number of brides trafficked in Asia is small – around 100, but rising… if the above predictions are correct, we can expect a larger increase in coming years.