Fertility Decline and Transforming Gender Ideologies: Bearing Daughters and Remaining Sonless in a Patriarchal Society

• In Event: 40861 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Fertility and Social Change

Abstract

Declining fertility and the resulting increase in sonless families may have wide reaching effects on family dynamics. Previous research has pointed to changes in marriage markets as well as weakening patriarchal practices. This study builds on the latter and examines the relationship between gendered childbearing experiences and egalitarian attitudes on marriage and childbearing using the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS) in Nepal. We find that having daughters led to more egalitarian attitudinal shifts for both men and women. Relative to women who had fewer or no daughters, women who birthed more daughters became less supportive of child marriage and daughter-in-law obedience and increased their preferences for daughters over sons and the value they ascribed to women. Men who had more daughters increased their ideal age at women’s marriage, became less supportive of daughter-in-law obedience, and increased their preferences for daughters over sons. Unexpectedly, we also find that men and women who had more sons also became increasingly gender egalitarian. Results support new theories in demography regarding a potential gendered sociodemographic dividend to decreasing fertility.

Authors

• Sarah Brauner-Otto, McGill University

• Jennifer S. Barber, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Keera Allendorf, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Lisa D. Pearce, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill