Birth control—sex preference and sex ratio

Infanticide is known to have been a common means of birth control from early, apparently even prehistoric, times. In societies that lacked any precise knowledge of the fertilization process and consequently methods for its prevention, infanticide was used more frequently than other known methods of population limitation, such as abstention from intercourse and abortion. Infanticide was expected to serve several functions: “general reduction in population numbers (including twin removal), removal of defectives, elimination of social ‘illegitimates’ (i.e., offspring whose existence violated social group boundaries), response to loss of the nursing mother, control of dependency ratio, manipulation of sex ratio, and finally, use as a backstop to other methods when those fail”.

Download Full-text

Birth Control and the Sex-Ratio at Birth

American Journal of Sociology ◽

10.1086/216032 ◽

1932 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 225-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Sanford Winston

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Birth Control ◽

Sex Ratio At Birth

Download Full-text

Sex Ratio and Birth Control

American Journal of Sociology ◽

10.1086/222691 ◽

1959 ◽

Vol 65 (3) ◽

pp. 298-299 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

H. Weiler

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Birth Control

Download Full-text

ABORTION, BIRTH CONTROL, AND SEX RATIO IN ENGLAND AND WALES

The Lancet ◽

10.1016/s0140-6736(78)91492-7 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 312 (8087) ◽

pp. 480

Author(s):

R. Cruz-Coke

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Birth Control ◽

England And Wales

Download Full-text

Culture and Demography: A Micro Level Study Between Two Communities Residing in the City of Kolkata, West Bengal

The Oriental Anthropologist: A Bi-annual International Journal of the Science of Man ◽

10.1177/0972558x20913701 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 49-59

Author(s):

Mir Azad Kalam ◽

Archana Mishra ◽

Saptamita Pal ◽

Subho Roy

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

West Bengal ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Migrant Group ◽

Sex Preference ◽

Demographic Traits ◽

Micro Level ◽

Demographic Patterns ◽

The City ◽

Depth Interviews

We aimed to study the demographic patterns of two contrasting communities, namely Bengali Hindu and Bihari Hindu groups, residing in adjacent clusters in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal. The former were the original inhabitants of Kolkata and the latter were a migrant group from the state of Bihar. We collected data from 164 ever-married females (Bengali [84] and Bihari [80]). Data on household information, demographic variables, and marital distance and preferences were collected using a well-tested schedule/questionnaire from ever-married females of both the groups. Some in-depth interviews were conducted on the participants to get information on the reasons for sex preference in childbirth, preference in selecting mates, determining the age at marriage, and so on. Results showed that both the groups differ with respect to sex ratio and child sex ratio, marital preference, marriage distance, and fertility. It appeared from the study that despite the physical proximity between these two groups, their demographic traits differed sharply. We concluded from this study that the differences in demographic traits between these two groups may be attributed to contrasting cultural attributes of these two communities.

Download Full-text