ABSTRACT
Son preference is commonly explained for by using a range of different rationales for its sustenance over time and across cultures. Sometimes these explanations only present part of the picture and other times fail to consider the cross-cutting and often contradictory intersections of social and material processes, thus making any attempt to 'figure out' son preference seemingly insurmountable and ineffectual. This chapter discusses some of the themes through which son preference is commonly explained. While there is a gravitation toward the idea that there may be an essential factor or reason which sets son preference up as a likely outcome, discussion attempts to move away from the idea that there is a reason or reasons which can effectively offer an applicable model of explanation. The men-women binary, albeit qualified with its intersectionality with other social hierarchies, continues to frame how we view gender.
