And you thought you had girl problems? Check out China

[tk149]

China thrown off balance as boys outnumber girls

According to China's latest census, 116.9 Chinese boys were born for every 100 girls in 2000 -- up from an already alarming ''sex ratio at birth'' of 111.3 boys in 1990. Both figures are well above the 105-107 boys for every 100 girls considered normal worldwide. In the USA, there were 104.8 boys born in 2000 for every 100 girls.


Not our problem? Think again:

Historically, governments have dealt with troublesome, unmarried men by:

* Imposing authoritarian rule. For that reason, Hudson and Den Boer conclude: ''The prognosis for developing a full democracy in China is poor.''

* Sending them off to war. Hudson and Den Boer found that Portugal, stuck with landless, unmarried men, sent them off to invade North Africa during the Middle Ages. The researchers predict that India and Pakistan, both of which have large surpluses of unmarried men, may have little incentive to end their hostilities over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir ( news - web sites). An increasingly assertive China might start spoiling for a fight with its neighbors.

 

[pyonir]

that is because girls are killed when born because they are thought to be inferior to boys. and only one (or is it two) children are allowed per couple.

someone correct me if i'm wrong...that is what i remember from a class in college.

 

[yllus]

In complete seriousness, I can see this resulting in a trend towards homosexuality in that country. It's not like they have any religious qualms about it either.

 

[vash]

Originally posted by: pyonir
that is because girls are killed when born because they are thought to be inferior to boys. and only one (or is it two) children are allowed per couple.

someone correct me if i'm wrong...that is what i remember from a class in college.

Yes, that is the case. Killing girls off isn't as much enforced anymore, but society's pressures on having boys as the first child is quite tough to ignore. Having a boy as the first child is considered good luck and the child is considered strong. The rule about the second child is still alive, but less enforced.

Any ladies looking for a good man? I bet China wouldn't be too bad. I also hear the men do all the grocery shopping and cooking.

vash

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: vash

Originally posted by: pyonir
that is because girls are killed when born because they are thought to be inferior to boys. and only one (or is it two) children are allowed per couple.

someone correct me if i'm wrong...that is what i remember from a class in college.

Yes, that is the case. Killing girls off isn't as much enforced anymore, but society's pressures on having boys as the first child is quite tough to ignore. Having a boy as the first child is considered good luck and the child is considered strong. The rule about the second child is still alive, but less enforced.

Any ladies looking for a good man? I bet China wouldn't be too bad. I also hear the men do all the grocery shopping and cooking.

vash

thanks for clearing that up a bit. 🙂

 

[Kaieye]

I'm a ABC guy and I do most of the shopping(food) and cooking. My children like my cooking better! As a matter of fact, my wife says my cooking is better than hers especially in the amount of time I put into it...

 

[Cyberian]

Originally posted by: Kaieye
I'm a ABC guy and I do most of the shopping(food) and cooking. My children like my cooking better! As a matter of fact, my wife says my cooking is better than hers especially in the amount of time I put into it...

I'd tell you that too if if got me out of doing the cooking! 🙂

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: yllus
In complete seriousness, I can see this resulting in a trend towards homosexuality in that country. It's not like they have any religious qualms about it either.

I don't know where you got the part about religious qualms from.. but every traditional parental figure I've ever known (relatives, etc.) has fears towards homosexuality and sometimes even metal retardation. They seem to act like it's a disease and encourage us to "stay away" from those types. *shrug*

 

[dafatha00]

Originally posted by: yllus
In complete seriousness, I can see this resulting in a trend towards homosexuality in that country. It's not like they have any religious qualms about it either.

Nah..Chinese parents take homosexuality very very seriously. Its extremely frowned upon from what I've seen. And most Chinese children WILL obey their parents or suffer the consequences.... 😀

 

[EvilYoda]

My family's from Taiwan.......2 boys and 3 girls in my mother's family, and 4 boys in my dad's side. 🙂

As for the homosexuality thing.......I really dunno what my parents think about it, it just doesn't happen around here. 🙂 (Troy, MI...upper-middle class city, everyone, not just Chinese, are still behind the times in homesexual acceptance)

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Yes, having a male in the family is EXTREMELY important for the family, especially the male parent. In a way, you can say it would be a "sin" (sort of) if there isn't a male to carry on with the family name (male parent's last name). With the one child rule in China, its not surprising to see such statistics.

Even in America (and elsewhere for that matter), to a chinese family having a male child is still VERY important.

My uncle lives in the USA, ~46 and had his first child, a girl. He's quite unhappy about it, even though he has brothers who have male children to help carry on the family name. He still wants a boy of his own.

Myself being chinese as well, I would like a son down the road, but I won't go so far as to kill off my own offspring if its not the sex I want. But me being in Canada and without the restriction, that question is easy to answer. Plus, I have a brother as well, so we both stand a good chance.

Ask me whether I would kill my own child (being a girl) if I were to be living in China right now as a single child, the answer is I can't honestly say. I don't believe I can come to grip with myself though for doing such a thing.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: pyonir
that is because girls are killed when born because they are thought to be inferior to boys. and only one (or is it two) children are allowed per couple.

someone correct me if i'm wrong...that is what i remember from a class in college.

not inferior...

they like boys mostly for one and only reason: he carries the surname to later generations and girls don't. They do inhumane stuff to you if you have 2 more more childs (forced prenancy prevention by closing your cervix or some crap like that, i don't remember anything from biology)

we have more women here in the US than men 🙂

no... not all chinese people really care about if their children is a boy or a girl. It's sexist to view baby girls like that. China is changing, slowly.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: EvilYoda
My family's from Taiwan.......2 boys and 3 girls in my mother's family, and 4 boys in my dad's side. 🙂

As for the homosexuality thing.......I really dunno what my parents think about it, it just doesn't happen around here. 🙂 (Troy, MI...upper-middle class city, everyone, not just Chinese, are still behind the times in homesexual acceptance)

even in america a LOT of people are upset with places like Castro Street (gay street in san francisco) and homosexuality. I'm not gay. I like females 🙂

 

[Zebo]

Writing on the wall!!

Lets see, kill your girls and worship your boys for 30 years. Now those same boys are wifeless..Hmmm?!?

 

[Imdmn04]

I think the biggest reason behind this problem as someone already mentioned is that they want their children to carry on the family name. There are also advantages in having boys instead of girls in rural farming areas where lots of physical work are required.

Here is a solution:
perhaps there should be some sort of incentives such as a tax break if you have a girl to encourage the family to keep the girl instead of killing her.

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: rh71
I don't know where you got the part about religious qualms from..

In China religion is outlawed, right? I would think that the prevailing reason people are wary of homosexuality is because their religion tells them it's wrong. When that's removed...what happens?

 

[alphatarget1]

nah... outlawing religion didn't even work under stalin's USSR,

They restrict it but they don't ban religion

 

[alphatarget1]

the sad thing they don't realise is,

even if they have a boy, if there is no wife, who will give birth to babies to carry on the name?

wow, looks like a new profession will be started (or already has): professional baby borner?

 

[Nefrodite]

hehe the man woman ratio is good, women are more choosy and have way more power now.


and yes, the preference for boys is mostly in rural areas now😛


and for homosexuality.. probably frowned upon in most areas.

 

[Imdmn04]

China religion is outlawed, right? I would think that the prevailing reason people are wary of homosexuality is because their religion tells them it's wrong. When that's removed...what happens?

See what western media propaganda does to our people? Nobody can ban religion, its damn near impossible, you can believe whatever the hell you want overthere as long as you don't gather as a religious group that tries to challenge their politcal power. China doesnt fear religion itself, China fears the influence that a large religous group creates.

 

[alphatarget1]

falun gong anyone?

 

[tk149]

that is because girls are killed when born because they are thought to be inferior to boys. and only one (or is it two) children are allowed per couple.

someone correct me if i'm wrong...that is what i remember from a class in college

Did anyone actually read the article?

Because of the one-child limit, many couples have only one legal chance for a son. Many rely on ultrasound machines to identify the sex of fetuses in the womb so they can abort girls.

The sex ratios started going askew in the late 1980s as portable ultrasound machines reached remote Chinese villages. Here in central Hubei Province, the number of boys born for every 100 girls rose from 107 in 1982 to 109.5 in 1989. In 1995, it reached 130.3 boys for every 100 girls, the highest ratio in China that year.

Pre-natal screening is illegal in China but common anyway. One study found that 36% of the abortions performed in a rural Chinese county were designed to weed out daughters. ''Prenatal sex selection was probably the primary cause, if not the sole cause'' the county's birth ratio was 126 boys for every 100 girls, Chinese researcher Chu Junhong reported last year in the U.S. journal Population and Development Review. Ultrasound technicians did not say whether the fetus was a girl or boy, Chu found, but they might ''smile or frown to indicate the sex of the fetus.''

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: pyonir
that is because girls are killed when born because they are thought to be inferior to boys. and only one (or is it two) children are allowed per couple.

someone correct me if i'm wrong...that is what i remember from a class in college.

yeah, thats what i heard too... but i forgot from where. probably thru the grapevine...

 

[Nefrodite]

Originally posted by: Imdmn04

China religion is outlawed, right? I would think that the prevailing reason people are wary of homosexuality is because their religion tells them it's wrong. When that's removed...what happens?

See what western media propaganda does to our people? Nobody can ban religion, its damn near impossible, you can believe whatever the hell you want overthere as long as you don't gather as a religious group that tries to challenge their politcal power. China doesnt fear religion itself, China fears the influence that a large religous group creates.

mostly they fear how religion can spread at alarming rates amoung the ignorant and poor.. and turn into a fundamentalist nightmare.


just look at the middle east🙂


now aren't you happy china isn't all that free to religion🙂