Dianne (gardngal) reviewed Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men on + 271 more book reviews
Thoroughly and completely researched on a global level, the author discusses the topic in a no-nonsense way. She states that 163 million women are missing from the world. It was especially enlightening to learn that it was not just the customs and traditions of the Asian peoples who started the imbalance of males over females. In the mid-twentieth century, it was the United States who grew concerned about the population explosion of those countries and launched programs to curtail the birth rate, much as China has done today with their one-child policy. This is leading to "profound social upheaval". Programs were funded by the World Bank and even the Ford Foundation. The treatment of women as property increased under these conditions, and the male dominance of today has exacerbated the issues in those societies. Sex selection in this country is starting as well, with couples using in vitro fertilization to determine if a fetus has an inherited disease, but ALSO whether it is male or female. Couples seem to want the same choices with their children as they have at the grocery store. Truly fascinating, as well as very, very sad. D.
