03 January 2009

China's Growing Gender Imbalance

In some parts of China, boys outnumber girls by a factor of four to one.

All those males looking to hook up; if I were a young girl or young woman in China today, I'd be fearful for my safety.

This CBC video includes a segment of a village classroom. It's obvious the two girls feel less certain of their position in the classroom than the boys do. Not surprising. Even there, where their teacher tries to counteract it, they are subjected to the boys' discriminatory attitudes, as handed down by the children's families.

In the long term, the huge disparity between the two genders may do what education cannot. Reverse attitudes toward boys and girls, thus placing greater value on females and less on males. It's the economic principle of supply and demand applied to gender imbalance.

Recommend this post