Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men
Autor Mara Hvistendahlen Limba Engleză Paperback – 30 apr 2012
Finalist
for
the
Pulitzer
Prize
ASlateBest Book of 2011
ADiscover MagazineBest Book of 2011
Lianyungang, a booming port city, has China's most extreme gender ratio for children under four: 163 boys for every 100 girls. These numbers don't seem terribly grim, but in ten years, the skewed sex ratio will pose a colossal challenge. By the time those children reach adulthood, their generation will have twenty-four million more men than women.
The prognosis for China's neighbors is no less bleak: Asia now has 163 million females "missing" from its population. Gender imbalance reaches far beyond Asia, affecting Georgia, Eastern Europe, and cities in the U.S. where there are significant immigrant populations. The world, therefore, is becoming increasingly male, and this mismatch is likely to create profound social upheaval.
Historically, eras in which there have been an excess of men have produced periods of violent conflict and instability. Mara Hvistendahl has written a stunning, impeccably-researched book that does not flinch from examining not only the consequences of the misbegotten policies of sex selection but Western complicity with them.
ASlateBest Book of 2011
ADiscover MagazineBest Book of 2011
Lianyungang, a booming port city, has China's most extreme gender ratio for children under four: 163 boys for every 100 girls. These numbers don't seem terribly grim, but in ten years, the skewed sex ratio will pose a colossal challenge. By the time those children reach adulthood, their generation will have twenty-four million more men than women.
The prognosis for China's neighbors is no less bleak: Asia now has 163 million females "missing" from its population. Gender imbalance reaches far beyond Asia, affecting Georgia, Eastern Europe, and cities in the U.S. where there are significant immigrant populations. The world, therefore, is becoming increasingly male, and this mismatch is likely to create profound social upheaval.
Historically, eras in which there have been an excess of men have produced periods of violent conflict and instability. Mara Hvistendahl has written a stunning, impeccably-researched book that does not flinch from examining not only the consequences of the misbegotten policies of sex selection but Western complicity with them.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781610391511
ISBN-10: 1610391519
Pagini: 336
Ilustrații: none
Dimensiuni: 138 x 208 x 26 mm
Greutate: 0.41 kg
Editura: PublicAffairs
Colecția PublicAffairs
ISBN-10: 1610391519
Pagini: 336
Ilustrații: none
Dimensiuni: 138 x 208 x 26 mm
Greutate: 0.41 kg
Editura: PublicAffairs
Colecția PublicAffairs
Notă biografică
Mara
Hvistendahl'swriting
has
appeared
inHarper's,The
New
Republic,Scientific
American,
theFinancial
Timesmagazine,Popular
Science,Foreign
Policy,
and
theLos
Angeles
Times.
A
correspondent
for
theChronicle
of
Higher
Educationand
former
contributing
editor
atSeedmagazine,
Mara
has
won
an
Education
Writers
Association
award
and
been
nominated
for
the
Newswomen's
Club
of
New
York
Front
Page
Award.
She
first
lived
in
Asia
over
a
decade
ago,
when
her
studies
took
her
to
Beijing.
She
has
spent
half
of
the
years
since
then
in
China,
a
base
from
which
she
reported
extensively
from
around
the
continent.
Recenzii
“Unnatural
Selectionis
an
important
book
and
a
fascinating
read.
Mara
Hvistendahl
is
a
delightful
writer:
witty,
engaging,
and
acute.
But
the
tale
she
tells
is
deeply
disturbing.
Asia
alone
is
missing
160
million
women
and
girls,
a
number
equal
to
the
entire
female
population
of
the
United
States.
According
to
Hvistendahl,
the
culprit
is
less
deeply
rooted
cultural
gender
bias
than
rising
wealth,
elite
attitudes,
and
Western
influence
and
technology.
Development,
at
least
for
the
coming
decades,
will
produce
not
only
fewer
children
overall,
but
also
many
fewer
girls.
The
result
is
a
future
for
many
parts
of
the
world,
from
India
to
China,
Azerbaijan
to
Albania,
where
brides
are
much
more
likely
to
be
bought,
women
are
much
more
likely
to
be
trafficked,
and
men
are
much
more
likely
to
be
frustrated.
For
the
present,
women
who
are
pro-choice
must
confront
the
stark
reality
that
the
availability
of
ultrasound
and
ready
abortion
are
sharply
reducing
the
number
of
women
in
the
world.”
Stephen J. Dubner, author of Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics
Kirkus Review, April 15, 2011
"A hard-hitting, eye-opening study that not only paints a dire future of a world without girls but traces the West's role in propagating sex selection…. Hvistendahl's important, even-handed exposé considers all sides of the argument and deserves careful attention and study."
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Bert G. Kerstetter University Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
Bloomberg, June 19, 2011
“Provocative, wide-ranging…. A thoughtful, smartly researched overview of medical developments, policymaking and cultural trends that combined to upset the global sex ratio.”
The Daily Beast, Eleanor Clift, June 22, 2011
“[Hvistendahl] approaches these sensitive subjects without an ideological ax to grind, whether pro-life or pro-population control, documenting how sex selection has taken hold thanks to technology, lower birth rates, and deep-seated cultural biases that require a boy to carry on a family's lineage.”
New York Times, Ross Douthat,June 26, 2011
“Unnatural Selectionreads like a great historical detective story, and it's written with the sense of moral urgency that usually accompanies the revelation of some kind of enormous crime.”
Marcy Darnovsky “Ms. Blog”, June 7, 2011
“An important contribution, disturbing but gripping, and challenging to all of us, perhaps especially to U.S. advocates of reproductive justice. It provides both a deep understanding of the staggering dimensions and consequences of sex selection, and an urgent prod to confront it.”
The Daily Brief,June 12, 2011
"Yes, it's a rigorous exploration of the world's ‘missing women,' but it's more than that too: an extraordinarily vivid look at the implications of the problem. Hvistendahl writes beautifully, with an eye for detail but also the big picture. She has a fierce intelligence but, more important, a fierce intellectual independence; she writes with a hard edge but no venom – rather, a cool and hard passion."
Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide
"A fascinating and thoroughly researched book on a most important subject. The staggering population imbalances described by Hvistendahl should be of concern to all."
Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves
“A critically important story of demographic surprises and skewed sex ratios, trafficked wives and mail-order brides. Thanks to the devaluation of females and misused technologies, sex selection has reached staggering dimensions in recent decades. Hvistendahl's call to action is the most well-documented and compelling yet.”
The Wall Street Journal,June, 18, 2011
“Ms. Hvistendahl is a first-rate reporter and has filledUnnatural Selectionwith gripping details…. There is so much to recommend.”
“Hvistendahl has a keen sense of detail, and her book is filled with lively encounters with the doctors, academics and bachelors who, she argues, all play a part in the changing demographics worldwide. Her research only gains in importance as these imbalanced generations, where men outnumber women by as much."
Globe and Mail, July 1, 2011
“Brave, well researched and imminently controversial…. From the distant vista of the West, where we don't really consider what it would mean to have an only son who can never find a mate, the unbalanced sex ratio in Asia may seem like relatively small news. This remarkable book goes a long way to bringing the pain and the urgency of the issue home. Mara Hvistendahl is not just entering an important conversation, she's starting one.” the dogged self-destruction of a braggadocio crippled by the conviction of his own superiority.”
WashingtonPost, July 3, 2011
“Massively well-documented…. [Hvistendahl] has written a disturbing, engrossing book.”
Evening Standard (UK), July 21, 2011
“A well-researched account of how a preference for boys has made sex selective abortion commonplace in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe… Hvistendahl makes a persuasive case for the West being complicit in the spread of sex-selective abortion.”
Stephen J. Dubner, author of Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics
Kirkus Review, April 15, 2011
"A hard-hitting, eye-opening study that not only paints a dire future of a world without girls but traces the West's role in propagating sex selection…. Hvistendahl's important, even-handed exposé considers all sides of the argument and deserves careful attention and study."
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Bert G. Kerstetter University Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
Bloomberg, June 19, 2011
“Provocative, wide-ranging…. A thoughtful, smartly researched overview of medical developments, policymaking and cultural trends that combined to upset the global sex ratio.”
The Daily Beast, Eleanor Clift, June 22, 2011
“[Hvistendahl] approaches these sensitive subjects without an ideological ax to grind, whether pro-life or pro-population control, documenting how sex selection has taken hold thanks to technology, lower birth rates, and deep-seated cultural biases that require a boy to carry on a family's lineage.”
New York Times, Ross Douthat,June 26, 2011
“Unnatural Selectionreads like a great historical detective story, and it's written with the sense of moral urgency that usually accompanies the revelation of some kind of enormous crime.”
Marcy Darnovsky “Ms. Blog”, June 7, 2011
“An important contribution, disturbing but gripping, and challenging to all of us, perhaps especially to U.S. advocates of reproductive justice. It provides both a deep understanding of the staggering dimensions and consequences of sex selection, and an urgent prod to confront it.”
The Daily Brief,June 12, 2011
"Yes, it's a rigorous exploration of the world's ‘missing women,' but it's more than that too: an extraordinarily vivid look at the implications of the problem. Hvistendahl writes beautifully, with an eye for detail but also the big picture. She has a fierce intelligence but, more important, a fierce intellectual independence; she writes with a hard edge but no venom – rather, a cool and hard passion."
Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide
"A fascinating and thoroughly researched book on a most important subject. The staggering population imbalances described by Hvistendahl should be of concern to all."
Judy Norsigian, Executive Director, Our Bodies Ourselves
“A critically important story of demographic surprises and skewed sex ratios, trafficked wives and mail-order brides. Thanks to the devaluation of females and misused technologies, sex selection has reached staggering dimensions in recent decades. Hvistendahl's call to action is the most well-documented and compelling yet.”
The Wall Street Journal,June, 18, 2011
“Ms. Hvistendahl is a first-rate reporter and has filledUnnatural Selectionwith gripping details…. There is so much to recommend.”
“Hvistendahl has a keen sense of detail, and her book is filled with lively encounters with the doctors, academics and bachelors who, she argues, all play a part in the changing demographics worldwide. Her research only gains in importance as these imbalanced generations, where men outnumber women by as much."
Globe and Mail, July 1, 2011
“Brave, well researched and imminently controversial…. From the distant vista of the West, where we don't really consider what it would mean to have an only son who can never find a mate, the unbalanced sex ratio in Asia may seem like relatively small news. This remarkable book goes a long way to bringing the pain and the urgency of the issue home. Mara Hvistendahl is not just entering an important conversation, she's starting one.” the dogged self-destruction of a braggadocio crippled by the conviction of his own superiority.”
WashingtonPost, July 3, 2011
“Massively well-documented…. [Hvistendahl] has written a disturbing, engrossing book.”
Evening Standard (UK), July 21, 2011
“A well-researched account of how a preference for boys has made sex selective abortion commonplace in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe… Hvistendahl makes a persuasive case for the West being complicit in the spread of sex-selective abortion.”