son preference
Valuing male heirs
Son preference is the cultural or social favoritism toward male children over female children, particularly regarding inheritance, family lineage, and care in old age.
This preference manifests in practices ranging from differential investment in children's education and health to sex-selective abortion and female infanticide.
Son preference is especially documented in parts of East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, where patrilineal descent systems and dowry practices reinforce the perceived economic and social value of sons.
Son preference has contributed to skewed sex ratios in several countries.
- gender biasPrejudice based on sex
- male heirSon due inheritance
- baby boyYoung male child
- male childYoung human, masculine
- patriarchyMale-dominated social order
dowry · inheritance · firstborn · lineage · family name · ultrasound · prenatal testing · sex selection · sex ratio · abortion · daughter · fertility · dynasty · pressure · tradition · eldest · bloodline · disappointment
- patriarchymale dominance, male supremacy, pater familias, patria potestas, male privilege
- Dharmadharma, sacred duty, religious duty, righteousness, moral law
sonny, prefer, prefers, preferred, preferring, preferential, preferentially, preferable, preferably