son preference

{{Short description|Cultural preference for male offspring}}

Son preference is the ancient and cross-cultural human preference for male (rather than female) offspring. Son preference has been demonstrated across all social classes, from "succession laws in royal families to land inheritance in peasant families."{{Cite journal |last1=Le |first1=Kien |last2=Nguyen |first2=My |date=2022-03-01 |title=Son preference and health disparities in developing countries |journal=SSM - Population Health |language=en |volume=17 |pages=101036 |doi=10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101036 |issn=2352-8273 |pmc=8804262 |pmid=35128024}} Sons are considered both a status symbol and a genetic and economic competitive advantage.{{Cite journal |last1=Freese |first1=Jeremy |last2=Powell |first2=Brian |date=May 1999 |title=Sociobiology, Status, and Parental Investment in Sons and Daughters: Testing the Trivers-Willard Hypothesis |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/210221 |journal=American Journal of Sociology |language=en |volume=104 |issue=6 |pages=1709 |doi=10.1086/210221 |s2cid=145335823 |issn=0002-9602|url-access=subscription }}

Son preference can influence birth rates and thus population growth.{{Cite journal |last=Shah |first=Mussawar |date=2005-07-25 |title=Son Preference and Its Consequences (A Review) |url=http://www.ajol.info/index.php/gab/article/view/23325 |journal=Gender and Behaviour |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=269–280 |doi=10.4314/gab.v3i1.23325 |issn=1596-9231|url-access=subscription }} Parents will continue having children until they have produced the desired number of sons; there is no equivalent behavior in respect to daughters. Families with sons have been shown to have increased levels of "marital stability and marital satisfaction," and the presence of sons may increase paternal involvement in child-rearing.{{Cite journal |last=Lundberg |first=S. |date=2005-09-01 |title=Sons, Daughters, and Parental Behaviour |url=https://academic.oup.com/oxrep/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/oxrep/gri020 |journal=Oxford Review of Economic Policy |language=en |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=340–356 |doi=10.1093/oxrep/gri020 |issn=0266-903X|url-access=subscription }} In the 21st century, son preference has been broadly documented in South and East Asia, but is also observable in Western countries.{{Cite journal |last1=Dahl |first1=Gordon B. |last2=Moretti |first2=Enrico |date=October 2008 |title=The Demand for Sons |url=https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2008.00514.x |journal=Review of Economic Studies |language=en |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=1085–1120 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-937X.2008.00514.x|url-access=subscription }}

An example of son preference is demonstrated by the traditions of the Igbo people of Nigeria: "The status of a man is assessed in part by his number of sons. A man with many sons is viewed as a wealthy or an accomplished man."Household socioeconomic status and sexual behaviour among Nigerian female youth, UC Isiugo-Abanihe, KA Oyediran - African Population Studies, 2004 - bioline.org.br - http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?ep04005 Igbo men that die without fathering sons are seen as having been "unaccomplished or a misfit" and are not given ceremonial second burials.{{Cite journal |last=NWOKOCHA |first=EZEBUNWA E. |title=Male-Child Syndrome and the Agony of Motherhood Among the Igbo of Nigeria |date=2007 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23070771 |journal=International Journal of Sociology of the Family |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=219–234 |jstor=23070771 |issn=0020-7667}}

Son preference is culturally mediated and expression of it may change with circumstances. For example, demonstrations of son preference declined in "subsequent generations" of Turkish immigrants to Germany.{{Cite journal |last1=Ezdi |first1=Sehar |last2=Baş |first2=Ahmet Melik |date=2020 |title=Gender preferences and fertility: Investigating the case of Turkish immigrants in Germany |journal=Demographic Research |volume=43 |pages=59–96 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.3 |jstor=26967800 |s2cid=221264434 |issn=1435-9871|doi-access=free }} Additionally, researchers have found that increasing levels of "gender indifference" and decreasing levels of son preference, for example as documented in Taiwan since 1990, can be correlated to maternal educational levels.{{Cite journal |last=Lin |first=Tin-chi |date=2009 |title=The decline of son preference and rise of gender indifference in Taiwan since 1990 |journal=Demographic Research |volume=20 |pages=377–402 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2009.20.16 |jstor=26349320 |pmid=23970825 |pmc=3747565 |issn=1435-9871}} Son preference in Asian-immigrant households in the United States is higher amongst couples from the same country and higher in mixed-origin marriages where the male partner is the immigrant.{{Cite journal |last1=Duan |first1=Huiqiong |last2=Hicks |first2=Daniel L. |date=2020-08-17 |title=New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States |journal=IZA Journal of Development and Migration |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=20200014 |doi=10.2478/izajodm-2020-0014 |s2cid=221257460 |issn=2520-1786|doi-access=free |hdl=10419/298685 |hdl-access=free }}

Son preference may result in sex selection practices. Birth of daughters can result in gender disappointment in societies that have strong son preference. Daughter preference or son preference is sometimes expressed by higher levels of household investment in offspring of preferred gender.