For mother and Reddit user Throwawaygrprty, hosting a gender reveal party for her second child was supposed to be an exciting celebration of the new addition to the family.
However, as the event was approaching, the woman realized that her husband’s intense fixation on having a boy was threatening to turn it into a source of conflict and disappointment.
Image credits: buzmakovatatyana / Envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: LightFieldStudios / Envato (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Throwawaygrprty
For a long time, boys were thought to be stronger and more capable in general, so having a boy child meant that your business, piece of land, or corner shop was in better hands.
For instance, much of England King Henry VIII’s marital troubles only came about because of his pursuit of a legitimate male heir. Eventually, his third wife Jane Seymour gave him Prince Edward to satisfy that obsessive desire.
Dr. Glenn Wilson, a professor in gender and sexual psychology, says men actively seek the pride and importance of having the family name passed through the generations.
“This was true in the days of Henry VIII. Traditionally your line is carried on through your name. Also, sons and fathers share more genetic material than dads and daughters because the X chromosome is passed on as a unit which could be a basis for an instinctive preference for sons,” he explained.
“Before the birth, a father would assume he’d connect with his son psychologically more so than with his daughter, and that they’d have more shared interests such as playing football. There is also research showing marriages with sons are less likely to break down than marriages with only daughters.”
Today, modern men are generally reluctant to admit they want to father boys. They don’t want to upset their partner or seem ungrateful at the arrival of a baby daughter.
But evidence suggests deep down they only want a son. A study in the US by researchers Gordon Dahl and Enrico Moretti shows how this parental preference can affect divorce, child custody, marriage, child support payments, shotgun marriage, and the decision of parents not to have any more children. Looking at census statistics from 1940 to 2000 they found that the bias for boys is hugely important to all these events.
Some men also feel they can relate to boys more as they don’t have to deal with so-called feminine traits and aspirations, such as the belief girls are more emotive and cry more easily which, in their eyes, can make parenting easier.
This story sounds like a radical example of that.
As the woman’s story went viral, she provided more details about her husband’s behavior
People were appalled to learn what happened
Image credits: Vika Glitter / Pexels (not the actual photo)
