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


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