WATERING THE NEIGHBOUR'S GARDEN: THE GROWING - CICRED

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ZHENG Z.
from rural to urban areas may change the opinion of rural couples and
assimilate rural people, especial youth, with urban life styles, including
the fertility desire (You and Zheng, 2002), and therefore weaken son
preference. Migration also creates an opportunity for rural women to
work and earn a salary, which in turn would redefine the role of
women in the family. A survey among migrants in Shanghai found that
son preference is weaker among migrants in comparison to that of
their rural counterparts (China News, 2004). But migration is
sometimes also a way to have a (or another) boy, since administrative
management in cities is not as strong as in rural areas.
2.3. Family needs and individual opinions
As mentioned earlier, the need for a son is often a conscious
decision of couples, after balancing the cost and benefit of children in
their life. Since the role of children in a family is often clearly defined,
preference for male children is quite understandable for those who still
depend on son(s) to provide support in old age, to work in farm or in
family business, to deal with family affairs, and carry on the family
name (Xie, 2002). Although agricultural modernization is on the way,
in some rural areas a (or several) son(s) is still needed for heavy labour,
for example, in less developed mountainous areas.
Numerous journal articles and discussions emphasize the
importance of a son for a family: male child(ren) as the key for old age
support, as the head of the family, as an honour for the family, and as a
kind of goods that every family should has. Son preference is also
related to family status and it is found that couples are more in a
desperate need of a son when the family has a low social status in the
village. An anthropological study conducted in a village in Zhejiang
shows that family needs often override individual needs among rural
residents (Li and Chen, 1993). As the management of controlling sexselective
abortions is targeting pregnant women, women are under a
double pressure: on one hand, they are subject to the administrative
control of sex-selective abortions and, on the other hand, to the desire
to give birth to a male. In some rural areas, a woman would be
divorced if she could not give birth to a son.
Some of the needs for sons could be simply blamed as a deeply
rooted tradition, but some are quite practical and reasonable. Unless
the society and the government solve the problem of old age support
and reform the agriculture structure, the needs for sons will remain in
spite of the campaigns and IEC activities.
There is a saying in China that to have a son is showing filial piety,