Netizens who know a little about genetics know that the pregnancy of a couple and the birth of a boy and a girl are determined by the sex chromosomes carried by the male sperm, and this probability is 50% each, which will not be affected by other external factors, such as money, power, etc.
However, there have been many popular sayings or remarks contrary to them, such as "the poor give birth to men, and the rich give birth to women", "most of the rich and powerful families of men give birth to daughters", etc.
The reason why the above sayings or remarks have been handed down from ancient times to the present is not a coincidence, but has its profound historical and cultural background, or is a conclusion reached by people based on some observations or experiences.
01 Is the view of "poor men and rich women" really reliable?
In order to verify whether such statements are true? I also randomly surveyed a few netizens, and checked the gender of most of the children of rich people on the Internet, but I didn't expect to find some interesting phenomena.
For example, in the "2023 Hurun Global Rich List", the top three richest people in China are:
First place: Nongfu Spring's founder, Zhong Sui, who has three daughters with his wife.
Second place: Ma Huateng, the founder of Tencent, raised a daughter with his wife.
Third place: Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, also has a daughter with his wife, and his family life is low-key and warm.
From this point of view, the point of view of "rich daughters" is really supported by enough cases!
So does the view of "poor boys" have similar observations?
In fact, as long as we look closely, we will find that it is not difficult to find cases that support this view, especially in economically backward schools where children are relatively concentrated, and this trend is more likely to be observed.
For example, from the following "primary school freshman registration photo" taken by a parent in September last year, it can be clearly seen that most of the freshmen in the photo are boys.
In addition, a video taken by a nursery teacher also provides us with visual evidence. In the video, there are 12 children in a class, but there are only three girls.
It is worth noting that most of these children come from ordinary families and have relatively modest economic backgrounds. This observation supports the view of "poor boys" to a certain extent.
02 Why is it easier for wealthier families to have daughters?
Although genetically speaking, the probability of having a boy or a girl is equal and independent of the family's economic situation, some real-life cases seem to repeatedly challenge this view.
In fact, this is not a "mysterious" phenomenon, according to some studies and observations, the relatively high proportion of daughters born to wealthy families is mainly influenced by the following factors.
Reason 1: The richer the person, the later the age of marriage
We all know that the more enterprising people are, the more they tend to pay attention to the development of their personal careers and the accumulation of wealth, so they generally get married and have children at a relatively old age.
For example, the desperate San Lang in the film and television industry, the famous singer Andy Lau, at the age of 51, his wife Zhu Liqian gave birth to his only daughter Liu Xianghui for him.
Researchers and colleagues from the Los Angeles Fertility Technology Laboratory in the United States studied the semen samples of 5081 male participants aged 16~72 years. It was found that the older a man is, the more sperm he carries the X chromosome (i.e., the sperm that decides to have a girl).
In addition, studies have confirmed that the older a woman is, the less alkaline secretions in her uterus, while sperm carrying the Y chromosome (i.e., the sperm that determines the birth of a boy) is more active in an alkaline environment, and sperm carrying the X chromosome (i.e., the sperm that decides to have a girl) can survive better in an acidic or neutral environment.
Combining the above two points, we can see that whether it is a man or a woman, the probability of having a girl increases accordingly as they get older.
Reason 2: The more affluent people are, the more stressful their lives are
Many people envy the life of rich people, but they don't know that the richer they are, especially the hostess of rich families, the greater the mental pressure they face.
Because she not only has to play the role of a good wife and daughter-in-law in the family, but also has to make a difference in the workplace or family. For example, Wang Xifeng in "Dream of Red Mansions" not only has to maintain the intricate family relationships in a large family, but also wants to stabilize the stability and growth of the family's finances, participate in various social activities, and deal with different people.
This has undoubtedly increased their psychological burden and mental pressure. Excessive stress can cause the body to secrete a hormone called cortisol.
Studies have shown that high levels of cortisol may inhibit the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, leading to a decrease in the production of sex hormones such as testosterone.
The concentration of testosterone is crucial for the development of the male embryo. Therefore, once a woman is in a state of high mental stress for a long time, the concentration of testosterone in the body will decrease, thus reducing the probability of having a boy.
In addition, there are studies that show that if a person is in a state of high mental stress for a long time, the body will gradually become acidic.
Combined with the previous article, we said that sperm carrying the Y chromosome are more active in alkaline environments, and it is also confirmed once again that women who are stressed have a greater probability of giving birth to a girl.
Reason 3: The influence of old traditional concepts
Admittedly, most of the wealthier families usually have a higher level of education and are therefore less susceptible to stereotypes, including "son preference".
Therefore, after they become pregnant, even if they can understand the gender of the child in advance through technology, they will not deliberately intervene, but accept it gladly.
On the other hand, those from poor families, especially those with low levels of education, tend to be more susceptible to traditional attitudes of "preference for sons over daughters".
Just like my husband's cousin, when my daughter-in-law was pregnant with her second child, she went to the hospital to check her gender, and found out that she was pregnant with a girl, so she terminated the pregnancy.
To a certain extent, this has also exacerbated the phenomenon of the rich having more girls and the poor having more boys.
Reason 4: Cognitive biases among the general public
In psychology, there is a term for "confirmation bias", which is the cognitive bias that people are familiar with.
This means that people tend to be more likely to notice, find, or interpret information that is consistent with their pre-existing beliefs, expectations, or assumptions, and to ignore or underestimate information that contradicts their beliefs.
The reason why many people find the idea that "poor men and rich women" make sense is that they have accepted this idea in their hearts, so when they encounter phenomena that are consistent with this view, it is easier to remember and disseminate these cases, ignoring a large number of other situations, thus forming a false impression.
[Final Words to Parents]
At first glance, the idea that "the poor give birth to men and the rich give birth to women" may sound a bit absurd and illogical.
However, when we delve into this idea with a scientific attitude, we will find that there may be some interesting and worthwhile phenomena hidden in it, rather than just "nonsense".
With the progress of society and the improvement of people's education level, the vast majority of young parents no longer care about the gender of their children, but pay more attention to the health and all-round development of their children.
Therefore, when discussing this topic with you today, I just hope that we can look at some common sayings or traditions left to us by our ancestors with a scientific and open attitude, instead of blindly accepting or rejecting them.
Just like "raising a son in poverty and raising a daughter in the rich", "looking big at the age of three, looking old at the age of seven", "if you want to have a child safe, you should divide hunger and cold", "raising a son is like raising a donkey, and raising a daughter is like raising a pig" and other widely spread parenting sayings, all of which have a certain scientific truth.