November 22, 2009
UTNE READER

Revenge of the missing girls

(Page 2 of 2)

May/June 1996 Issue
By Luise Cardarelli, Utne Reader 
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Kidnapping may meet the needs of some men, but without enough women there will be many who cannot obtain a wife. There is no national social security system in China, and the eldest (now only) son and his wife are fully responsible for caring for his elderly parents. Asiaweek describes the nervousness of government officials "who contemplate the consequences of 10 percent of Chinese homes in crisis because their sons cannot marry."

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"Little emperors" (the name given to the spoiled male children being produced by the one-child policy) may grow into selfish, egotistical men who aren't interested in self-discipline or fulfilling the obligations of citizenship. The possibility that an entire generation will be unwilling and unable to conform to traditional values and a communist system is now a serious concern in China.

Biologists, too, wonder about the long-term evolutionary effects of gender imbalance. Writing in the American Institute of Biological Sciences journal BioScience (June 1995), Anna Maria Gillis reports on a controversial hypothesis in evolutionary biology: favoring boys and curtailing fertility may, ironically, end up favoring girls. Biologists believe boys outnumber girls at birth because the species accounts for the fact that more boys die before reaching reproductive age. If more and more girls in China fail to reach puberty, will the gender ratio at birth reverse itself there?

Ultimately, China's emergence in the global economy may hold the best hope for girls and women. Chinese women who establish independent economic identities by taking part in China's industrial boom may be those most able to redefine their own value and the value of their daughters. Unless respect for women increases, China's social stability is likely to continue to decrease, with unknown and potentially disturbing consequences.

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