ABSTRACT
As soon as a baby is born, people begin to identify this new person in various ways. Besides assuming the baby’s ethnicity or nationality, this very often means identifying the baby’s gender. Today, with the advent of new technologies, many people will seek to find out whether they are having a girl or a boy even before birth. The consequences of this early identification range from ‘getting ready’ by selecting a name and painting a nursery in the ‘right’ colour, to selective abortions in countries like India (where a preference for males is common) or China (where the preference for males is coupled with a one-birth policy). Thus, from an early age, before birth even, identity politics matter.
