Sex Selection: History and Folk Beliefs

It’s unknown just how long sex selection has been attempted by humans. Attempts were probably started as soon as there was a realization of how babies were created. Human beings have a natural desire to try to control and manipulate their environment, and for some, this includes the sex of their offspring.

Cultural Influences

Some cultures have a preference of one sex over the other. Males may be needed to carry on the family name, inherit property, or work the farm. This need was often taken very seriously. The failure to produce a male child was probably a contributing factor that cost Anne Boleyn her head.

Throughout history, most cultures have shown a preference for male offspring, with some populations going so far as to engage in the practice of female infanticide. Although, this seems to go against nature, as it is the number of females that determines the survival of a population. One fertile male can, theoretically, produce hundreds of offspring. However, you would need dozens of females for him to be able to do so.

Early Attempts

Of course, any attempt at gender selection will be, at least, roughly 50 percent successful. So, many methods were passed on over the years as being legitimate.

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, was known to give advice on gender selection. His recommendation was that men tie off their left testicle, before intercourse, if they desired a male child. It is the sperm that determines gender, but he was wrong in his belief that the left testicle produced female sperm and the right male sperm. This ancient recommendation is a dangerous and ineffective practice that should not be attempted by anyone.

A Chinese conception chart, dating back to the 13th century, is thought to be able to determine the sex of a child based on astrology. Many, modern day, mother’s-to-be are consulting online versions of this ancient chart in hopes of getting an early heads-up on the sex of their child. Others are trying to time intercourse to maximize their chances of having a baby of their preferred gender.

Other folk methods include various sexual positions, diet restrictions and herbal remedies to try to bring about the desired gender of offspring.

Modern Day Methods

The first successful attempt at separating male and female sperm dates back to the 1980’s. Used extensively in the agricultural industry, the technology (known as sperm sorting) is also available at some fertility clinics for family balancing. Sperm is washed and sorted prior to use in artificial insemination (AI) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures.

Another method available at fertility clinics is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This technology was originally used to identify embryos with genetic abnormalities. It can also, however, be used to select a male or female embryo prior to implantation via an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure.

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