SEX IN DEPTH
Asia: The land of raising sons
By William Sparrow

BANGKOK - Many people felt deep sympathy for the plight of Japanese Princess Kiko when she was under relentless pressure to bear a baby boy as an heir to the emperor. Japan has long had a male-centric interpretation of familial ideals about procreation in the pursuit of carrying on the family name. The scrutiny placed on 41-year-old Princess Kiko, formerly Kiko Kawashima, has had far-reaching, having negative effects on some Asian societies and the fallout has been both dangerous and sad.

It can be unfair to the women of Asia that that the responsibility of bearing a child of a specific gender is the responsibility of the female. This attitude ignores the basic scientific fact that it is the male spermatozoa, with either an X or Y chromosome, that determines the gender of a child.

In a joyous outcome, Princess Kiko, after much anticipation, bore her third child on September, 6, 2006; a baby boy named Hisahito, sparking much celebration within the royal family and throughout Japan.

Princess Kiko is a salient example of the pressure placed on women to produce a male heir. In her case, it was to guarantee the continuation of the monarchy, as Japanese society as a whole does not have a preference for male babies.

In contrast, it is in India and China, the two most populated countries in the world, where cultural and societal issues are leading to a serious problem in regard to gender discrimination in reproduction. Both countries suffer from decades of male preference, which has caused a disproportionate gender ratio in both countries.

The United Nations Development Program reported as recently as 2006 that the female-to-male birth ratio is believed to be 850:1,000 in China, while a 2001 census in India found the ratio to be 927:1000. These are national averages - provincial and state-level numbers can be even more dismal, such as the Indian state of Haryana, where the 2001 report found the ratio to be 820:1000.

Some experts believe that as many at 3 million female fetuses are terminated through gender-selective abortions each year between China and India. The long-term effect of these lost females can be devastating both socially and economically.

The reasons for this male preference vary between these two countries. In China, there is strong familial pressure to produce a baby boy to carry on the family name; this has been exacerbated by China's "one-child policy" that was implemented in 1979. The intent of the one-child policy was to stem an exploding population, and though this may have helped, the unexpected side-effect has been abandoned baby girls, female infanticide and gender-selective abortions.

China has tried to reverse this trend in recent years by allowing a couple having a girl as their first child to be exempted from the one-child rule, offering subsidies to families having a female child and more subsidies should the second child be a female as well.

India has similar issues behind its preference for boys. Foremost is a deep-seated bias against baby girls. India practices a "reverse dowry" system, opposite from most other societies. In India, the responsibility of providing a dowry is on the female and her family, and can often be costly. In a country where poverty is a critical issue, it is understandable that the burden of marrying off a daughter might make some families think twice.

In India, like China, the birth of male children is essential for carrying on a family name. As a result, India has suffered problems with female abortion, abandonment and infanticide.

India has taken similar moves in trying to reverse the trend; in its case it outlawed the practice of a dowry needing to be provided. Unfortunately, it is still widely practiced as it is seen as a long-standing tradition. Subsidies for female children also have been started. While gender-selective abortion has been outlawed in both countries, it is still widely practiced.

Whether abandoned at birth or later, many of these women face exploitation in the sex industry in both China and India. Sometimes their own parents sell unwanted girls into the sex trade for money, at other times it is simply to ease the burden of another mouth to feed.

The dearth of females has also created some desperate bachelors in China and India. A subsequent effect has been a boom in prostitution, sexual assaults and rape. Many men lack sexual outlets, and many bemoan their chances of finding a girlfriend or wife.

Families selfishly assume that some other family will provide a princess for their little emperor, but the sad truth is that Chinese and Indian men are finding it increasingly difficult to find their Cinderella.

"The authorities are shocked at the bride shortage in [India], and they are suddenly clamping down in a big way," said Richa Tanwar, director of women's studies at Kurukshetra University in Haryana, speaking to the Times of India. "But even the bride shortage is not going to change things in [our] society ... The attitude is, 'okay, let the neighbors have daughters, I still want my sons'."

Sons are believed to be an economic asset, daughters are thought of as a liability - and such attitudes are nothing new to Asia. It is not past some parents to murder baby girls through suffocating, starvation or a fatal dose of opium.

India, China and many Asian countries need to increase the value of females in society. They are, after all, mothers, sisters and daughters.

And don't look now, but women throughout Asia are becoming increasingly successful and often just as able to support their families as their male counterparts. Providing healthcare, education and empowerment will ensure the success of the next generation of women. Societies such as China and India will become more successful when they can bridge the social and economic woes caused by the gender gap.

Maybe Chinese and Indian couples need to be reminded that their daughter could become the next Bollywood actress or Miss China or better, a powerful politician or doctor ... the possibilities are endless and it's time to stop taking away the potential of women without even giving them a chance.

William Sparrow has been an occasional contributor to Asia Times Online and now joins Asia Times Online with a weekly column. Sparrow is editor in chief of Asian Sex Gazette and has reported on sex in Asia for over five years.

Though it may be more extreme in some of the Asian countries, this practice isn't new. All over the world there are still ideas that one must have a male heir. There may be some people that get rid of female babies to make room for the preferred male heir in coutries outside of Asia. It just might not be so well known that female are "disposed" of.

I would hope that educating countries about the wealth of woman would help but I don't have much hope for that working anytime soon since so many have the mind set that male is better.

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I wish Mr. Sparrow had done two things to make an assessment more on target. First, more accurately narrowed his scope from "Chinese couples" to mainland Chinese affected by the one child policy. The further away from Beijing the less likely births are to be recorded so any larger rural families are largely ignored, for better or worse to the gender ratio count. Two, examine what is happening on the mainland with respect to the one child policy inside of the framework of a system that relies on the rule of man instead of the rule of the government welfare.

I think he really got it wrong by writing that a male is only to carry on the family name. Not that this by itself is untrue but there is much, much more to it than just a name but to carry on the family. Right or wrong, a patriarchal system is still a system and it's one that has endured the rise and fall of governments, famine and war. If this were simply a matter of culture and finding no value in females then Taiwan, HK, Canada and the US would have a larger amount of girls up for adoption domestically.

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Wow, this is all so interesting. It also doesn't help that male infants naturally have a higher rate of death than female infants.
These men could always leave their countries and find brides from overseas...

Here is the background on the guy who wrote the article. I'd say he supports the very core of the industry that enslaves women and children to sex trade.

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He's put a few very erroneous misconceptions about japan that is typically found in western publications. He's also a sex writer so I can understand if he's research abilities are not up to par, but I can't help to think that these guys get methodical inputs from organized resources.

One is that Japan has had 4 successful female emperors in its history. One was know for her extra ordinary leadership.

After WW2 General McArther designated changes in the Japanese constitution. One of which was to make female emperors illegal.

Two is that Japanese culture readily accept female leaders. It is just that they have a very nasty wall to jump before they are allowed that privilege. But certain leader type women are ready and willing leaders who can perform well. Kudos to the western female leaders because they had to cut their own field and build their own castle...(one of the reasons I'm on this site) The sad thing about orientation equality in the west is that many women end up "riding the beast"....eww. I donno it is safe for those women to ever get off the darn animal...they'd chew her up.

This is not very easily transfered to western thought. Also Japan is a hidden matriarch. That fact is known to many Japanese men but it is not a common belief but many scholars agree.

Within the form of patriarchy, the man makes most of decisions requiring announcement, and women with accuracy, influences that decision to a pin point. Much of the life support decisions are not announced and are made by women of the house. (it used to work like that until know how transfer between the generations has been interrupted by media and other cultural influences from outside.) In general Asia has matriarchy in macro-psychology. West is definitely a patriarch.

There are many historians that claim that abuse of females are much more violent and numerous in the last 100 years than any time in history. There are records of violence through out japanese history, but that has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

Even sparrow says this when talking about China and India. "Both countries suffer from decades of male preference, which has caused a disproportionate gender ratio in both countries." Broad economic and frontal influence of the western trade only started about a century ago with asia.

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I'm here and waiting, can i mail order a husband?

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