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Attitudes towards sex selection in the Western world
Author(s) -
Van Balen Frank
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.1471
Subject(s) - sex selection , preference , daughter , selection (genetic algorithm) , style (visual arts) , psychology , western europe , developmental psychology , sexual selection , social psychology , demography , sociology , political science , biology , geography , economics , law , zoology , computer science , archaeology , european union , artificial intelligence , economic policy , microeconomics
It appears that in most Western countries, son preference is somewhat stronger than daughter preference. However, when one considers the preference of women it looks as though the opposite pattern is emerging. There is a considerable social acceptance of ‘light’ methods of sex selection (such as diets), even though these methods are not proven to be effective. The inclination to use sperm separation methods appears to be greater in the United States than in some European countries. There are indications that a preference for boys or for girls is associated with attitudes towards technology, child‐rearing style and the stereotyping of boys or girls. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.