Female Gendercide

Oprah brought to light the gendercide in India, but it's also happening in China and here in America.

Gendercide is the intentional killing of the XX chromosome, whether it's in the Petri dish, through abortion or murder after birth — as a result of a preference for boys.

In the United States, where gendercide is being practiced under the guise of gender selection for the purpose of "Family Balancing," the exact numbers of boys outnumbering girls are considered confidential. The medical language used in defining gender selection preference can be misleading and is often interpreted and divided into many subgroups, most likely giving the impression that fewer gender selection procedures are taking place than actually are. Even in the United States, the amount of boys being chosen over girls is unclear.

What is clear is that the choice is being made. But why?

It's men and women making these choices, these distinctions. Could it be that couples are turning to science for gender selection to secure a son for the purpose of carrying on the family name? If that's the case, then the choice of a woman taking a man's last name in marriage can be directly linked to the decline of the female population.

This would prove once and for all that something as seemingly insignificant as taking a man's last name is in fact not insignificant at all. Indeed, the taking of a man's last name, and the gender selection of a son over a daughter to carry on that name could, in effect, be the crux of the inequality that all American women face.

How can we stop female gendercide in our country? Perhaps we can by choosing not to participate in the traditions that make gendercide a desirable option for some. If women keep their own last names when they marry (see *What's In A Name? for more info), if we go by "Ms." instead of "Mrs." or "Miss" (see This Ms. Don't Miss The Mrs. for more info), if we give our children our last names, we are practicing equality*. Women have often been the torchbearers of evolution. It is the practice of equality, not the theory of it, that shapes our perceptions and can ensure the balance of nature.

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Sources:
1-26-2004 Newsweek "Girl or Boy? Now you can choose. But should you? The new science of sex selection. Claudia Kalb, Sudip Mazumdar in New Delhi, Sarah Schafer in Beijing and B. J. Lee in Seoul.
National Geographic Ultimate Explorer (Jan, 2004)

What's In A Name?

I kept my maiden name when I married and even gave my child my last name. Radical? If you think so it's evidence of inequality, for no one thinks it's radical for a man to keep his own last name when he marries or gives his children his last name.

Is it possible to maintain our equality and still have a cohesive family unit? Yes! It just requires a little creative thinking.

If all girls received their mother's last names and all boys received their father's last names and everyone kept their own last name and did not change it when they married, then both sides of the family would be preserved in the genealogical family tree for generations to come.*

In terms of holiday cards, making reservations at restaurants and other such occasions where a single family name is helpful, we created one. This name is not used for legal documents just for social circumstances of convenience.

My maiden name is also my surname. I've been accused of still having a man's last name thereby defeating the purpose of keeping one's last name for sake of equality. Is that true?

My last name is also my mother's last name and both her mother's and father's last name and her grandmother's on her father's side's last name. It may have originated with a man but it has since been passed down through five generations of women. At what point does it deserve the right to be referred to as a woman's last name?

People used to drink the beverage, Coke, because it had cocaine in it. It's still called Coke but it no longer contains cocaine. Is it still considered a drink with cocaine in it? Of course not. The same name evolved into something different, so too can a woman's last name.

Taking a man's last name may be a tradition, but it's also an example of inequality the likes of which may be responsible for such socially accepted atrocities as gendercide (see Female Gendercide for more info).

Every choice we make has the potential to create significant ripples. I believe that once a woman knows her power, she is compelled to use it for the greatest good of all concern.

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*Naming Ourselves, Naming Our Children: Resolving the Last Name Dilemma (Paperback) by Sharon M. G. Lebell