A Sociological Analysis of Parental Attitude towards Preferential Gender Preference Based on GT Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Payam-e Noor University of Tehran Province

2 MA and Instructor at University of Lorestan and Norabad Delfan Institute of Higher Education

3 Master of Social Sciences Research, Alborz Institute of Higher Education

4 Master of Youth Studies, University of Mazandaran

Abstract

One of the cultural problems of Third World countries in the field of social and demographic issues is preferential gender preference. What preferential gender preference denotes is belief in the inherent, legal or institutional superiority of one gender over the other. At present, with social and economic changes in the society especially in big cities, we are witness to the weakening and even eradication of these traditions. This study has been conducted using the qualitative research method and Grounded Theory (GT) strategy. The research data were collected through in-depth interviews. The population consisted of 21 men and women from Mahmoudabad in Mazandaran province, Iran. The sample size reached theoretical saturation after 21 interviews. The results of multiple coding led to the formation of the theoretical model of the research with a central role of preferential gender preference. The findings show that, among the surveyed families, a masculine child tends to be preferred to a feminine child although this attitude is getting waned. According to the research findings, the most important reasons and roots of this attitude among the studied families are related to various factors such as historical and cultural factors, social factors, psychological factors and economic-legal factors. The findings further reveal that economic factor is the main and most central issue.

Keywords

References

Arnold, F. (1985). Measuring the effect of sex preference on fertility: the case of Korea. Demography, 22(2), 280-288.
Arnold, F.Choe,M.K.& Roy, T.K.(1998). Son prefence, the family- building process and child mortality in lndia. Population studies, 52(3), 301- 315.
Callan, V. J., & Kee, P. K. (1981). Sons or daughters? Cross-cultural comparisons of the sex preferences of Australian, Greek, Italian, Malay, Chinese and Indian parents in Australia and Malaysia. Population and Environment, 4(2), 97-108.‏
Carter, A. T. (1998). 11 Cultural Models and Demographic Behaviour. The methods and uses of anthropological demography, 246-267.
Chi, Z., Dong, Z. X., Lei, W. X., Jun, Z. W., Lu, L., & Hesketh, T. (2013). Changing gender preference in China today: implications for the sex ratio. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 20(1), 51-68.
Fuse, K. (2010). Variations in attitudinal gender preferences for children across 50 less-developed countries. Demographic Research, 23, 1031-1048.‏
Fuse, K. (2013). Daughter preference in Japan: A reflection of gender role attitudes?. Demographic Research, 28, 1021-1052.‏
Hank, K., & Kohler, H. P. (2002). Gender preferences for children revisited: new evidence from Germany. at: ideas. repec. org/p/dem/wpaper/wp-2002-017. html (accessed 6 October.‏
Larsen, U., Chung, W., & Gupta, M. D. (1998). Fertility and son preference in Korea. Population Studies, 52(3), 317-325.‏
Lin, T. C., & Adserà, A. (2013). Son preference and children’s housework: the case of India. Population research and policy review, 32(4), 553-584.‏
Maribhat. PN.  And A.Y.  Francizavier . (2003)  Fertility decline and gender bias in northern.
Michalitsianos, N.(2014). Resiliency: a resorce for promoting marriage satisfaction. M.A. dissertation in Marriage & Family Therapy. Kean University.
Neuman, W. L. (1997). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches. Allyn & Bacon. Needham Heights, USA.
Obermeyer, C. M. (1999). 12 Fairness and Fertility: The Meaning of Son Preference in Morocco. Dynamics of values in fertility change, 275.‏
Park, C. B., & Cho, N. H. (1995). Consequences of son preference in a low-fertility society: imbalance of the sex ratio at birth in Korea. Population and development review, 59-84.‏
Rahman, M., & DaVanzo, J. (1993). Gender preference and birth spacing in Matlab, Bangladesh. Demography, 30(3), 315-332.‏
Repetto, R. (1972). Son preference and fertility behavior in developing countries. Studies in Family Planning, 3(4), 70-76.‏
Stash, S. (1996). Ideal-family-size and sex-composition preferences among wives and husbands in Nepal. Studies in Family Planning, 27(2), 107-119.‏
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research (Vol. 15). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.‏
Wang, M., Sander, B., Lund‐Andersen, H., & Larsen, M. (1999). Detection of shallow detachments in central serous chorioretinopathy. Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica, 77(4), 402-405.‏
Zick, C. D., & Xiang, N. (1994). Assessing the correlates of desired family size in Shaanxi, China. Social biology, 41(3-4), 150-167.‏
The Women and Families Cultural-Educational
Volume 15, Issue 50
Spring Quarterly 1399
May 2020
Pages 7-26

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 03 May 2017
  • Revise Date: 23 November 2019
  • Accept Date: 08 December 2019
  • Publish Date: 20 April 2020

Share

How to cite

Statistics