Using techonology to return to the Stone Age

by bee

i read . . .

a recent study conducted by Columbia University economists, which showed a marked discrepancy in the boy-girl ratio among Asian-Americans when compared to the general American population.

The study examined the the ratio of male to female births in U.S.-born children of Asian parents.

These are among the most technologically savvy populations in the U.S.

The authors observe:

We document male-biased sex ratios among U.S.-born children of Chinese, Korean, and Asian Indian parents in the 2000 U.S. Census. This male bias is particularly evident for third children: If there was no previous son, sons outnumbered daughters by 50%. By contrast, the sex ratios of eldest and younger children with an older brother were both within the range of the biologically normal, as were White offspring sex ratios (irrespective of the elder siblings' sex). We interpret the found deviation in favor of sons to be evidence of sex selection, most likely at the prenatal stage. ...

Between 1989 and 1999, prenatal ultrasound use among non-Japanese Asian mothers rose from around 38 percent to 64 percent of pregnancies." They add: "Since 2005, sexing through a blood test as early as 5 weeks after conception has been marketed directly to consumers in the U.S., raising the prospect of sex selection becoming more widely practiced in the near future.

i think . . .

it reiterates, once again, that technology does not always replace the old with the new. It merely makes insidious aspects of the old more efficient and streamlined. It does not change mindsets. It allows the fantasy of these mindsets to become reality.

So you can weed out 'defective' female embryos with preimplantation genetic diagnosis. In the comfort of their homes, these people can take sex-identification tests and decide whether a foetus survives or not.

i shudder . . .
to read the matrimonial ads plastered all over our newspapers and online media.

Parents of employed men seek 'slim, fair, homely' brides for their sons. Women with a long list of qualifications have their parents put ads for them, stating that they can cook and apologetically refer to their daughter's 'wheatish complexion'.

Some of them are 'innocent divorcees' whose marriage was 'not consummated'. No kidding.

In the matrimonial market, not much has changed at the ground level. As this study observed:

India's social fabric has retained most of its characteristics in the face of the so-called winds of liberalisation sweeping society in the last decade. Caste and family are still paramount in the marital search process and change in these important social considerations is still negligible.

Physical elements are gaining in importance all the time as parameters of success in the marriage market. Increasing specificity of requirements in the face of the decline of the joint family system and this specificity is out in the open.

Pure personality attributes of both men and women have been consistently low, though there is some increase in recent years because mainstream matrimonial advertising has essentially been an exchange of correspondence between parents. No serious defiance of existent social norms has emerged, and it is the parents who exercise the first level of choice.

Romance is seen as secondary to marriage, which is a rational life choice. The change is in the fact of accommodation of some of the needs of the individuals concerned (bride and groom) in the terminology of the ad. The format of the "matrimonial ad" has proved flexible enough to accommodate this change.

Parents of grooms put ads for their 35-year old son who wants a bride with a 'mix of eastern and western values'. Translation : an earning incubator who will cook and from time to time procreate male babies to uphold the family name.

i find ...

it unnerving so see how stubbornly people - mainly women - stick to the idea that a male child is superior to a female child.

Technology makes gender-selection very efficient and very real. Now, in parts of Haryana (one of India's richest states), the gender ratio is so skewed (820 females to 1000 males), that men travel to Kerala in south India to find brides through middlemen who charge hefty fees.
Kerala has one of the least skewed gender ratios in the country.

They find other ways to get around the problem in Uttar Pradesh. In all these transactions, the women gain less than the men.

Then they carry on where their parents left off - a series of pregnancies to ensure enough male progeny. If a girl is born, people console the parents and wish them better luck next time.

Heck, one of my pregnant friends who visited an Indian store in California was asked by another woman whether it was a boy or a girl. When my friend said 'girl', the old woman said: "I'm so sorry." Some things never change.

I'm from Kerala - from a matriarchal family where we carry our mother's family name. We celebrate the birth of girls.

i cannot ...

wrap my head around this. But what do I know? It's a "cultural thing", and "culture' is one area I understand and care little about.