How gendered lived experiences shape sex preference attitudes in contemporary urban China

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2287451
AutoresYun Zhou (0000-0002-3396-5867, Department of Sociology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan USA, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume87
Fascículo1
Páginas365-391
Data de publicação2025-02-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Marriage and the Family (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0022-2445 • E-ISSN: 1741-3737
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jomf.13025
OpenAlexW4400552268
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas83

ObjectiveThis article examines how gendered lived experiences-the constellation of women's quotidian, on-the-ground encounters and perceptions of gender inequality-shape highly educated women's sex preference attitudes in contemporary urban China.BackgroundRecent theoretical developments highlight women's experiences and views of gender (in)equity as powerful forces that drive their fertility aspirations and behavior. Yet, extant research on sex preference has overwhelmingly focused on features of the patrilineal family institution and overlooked the role of gendered lived experiences.MethodThis study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining six waves of the nationally representative China General Social Survey (2010-2018) and 70 in-depth interviews.ResultsQuantitative analysis found that compared to those with exclusive daughter preference, highly educated urban Chinese women who exclusively desired sons held similarly egalitarian views on gender. Qualitative analysis further demonstrated that invoking lived experiences of gender injustice, these women framed their son preference attitudes as "a mother's duty" of wanting to shield their children from gendered hardship. They viewed raising daughters amidst pervasive gender discriminations as emotionally taxing hard work. Meanwhile, such preference aligned with entrenched familial expectations that demanded male offspring, thereby holding behavioral implications for second-birth outcomes.ConclusionThis study uncovers previously obscured reasonings-beyond the outright devaluation of girls-that undergird highly educated urban Chinese women's son preference attitudes.ImplicationsBy unpacking how gendered lived experiences underpin the nuanced reasonings behind some highly educated urban Chinese women's son preference attitudes and the behavioral implications, this article joins the theoretical conversation that considers how gender egalitarians may perpetuate gender unequal outcomes

China · Geography · Preference · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender Studies · Global Maternal and Child Health · Psychology · Social Psychology