Unpacking ‘Son preference’: the trajectory of a demographic variable

Danièle Bélanger, PhD

Associate Professor The University of

Western Ontario

Son preference in Vietnam 2003. Are Sex Ratios Increasing in Vietnam? Population. 58-2:

255-276. 2002. Son Preference in a Village in Rural North Vietnam.

Studies in Family Planning. 33-4: 321-334. 2003. Childhood, Gender and Power in Vietnam. In:

Communities in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Responses. H. Lansdowne et al. (Eds). Victoria: Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, 380-402.

2002. Sex selective abortions: short term and long term perspectives. Reproductive Health Matters. 10-19. 194-196.

2004. Social Policy Reforms and Daughters' Schooling in Vietnam. International Journal of Educational Development. 24: 23-38.

Questions

What is ‘son preference’ in demography?

How is the concept constructed?

Introduction

Review paper Also informed by my

research All research

investigating the causes or consequences of a parental or societal desire or preference for male children

Peer-reviewed articles on sex preference (Population Index, 1986-1999)

108

110

112

114

116118

120

122

124

126

128

130

1986-90 1991-95 1996-99

Articles

What is son preference?

Encompassing term

Underlying assumptions of the term

Causes, manifestations, consequences

Son preference as a determinant of fertility

Independent variable of fertility ‘Traditional’ behavior Should disappear with ‘modernization’

MANIFESTATIONS OF SON PREFERENCE

FERTILITY SEX RATIOS

Fertility behavior

Fertility ntentions

By age groups

Mortality Contraceptive

behavior

Contraceptive intentions

Son preference as a determinant of health and mortality

Differential treatment Focus on the family environment Lack of context

Son preference as a reminder that culture matters

1990s: clash between low fertility and desire for sons

Missing girls

CONSEQUENCES

Gender-based discrimination

Prenatal Postnatal

Differential treatmentSex selective abortions

Health status/Health outcomes

Missing daughters/Skewed sex ratios/

Skewed marriage market

Migration/Trafficking/kindapping

Mortality

Causes

Economic factors Cultural factors

Poverty Culture theory

Son preference as having far-reaching consequences

Shortage of women Gender inequalities Migration, trafficking, kidnapping Heterogeneity

Conclusion

Need for more explanations

Need for more contextualization

Need for incorporation of other dimensions: community, State, policy, global