Uncovering the Voices of API Women on Sex Selection, Gender Preference & Self-Esteem

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

UNCOVERING THE VOICES OF
API WOMEN ON SEX
SELECTION, GENDER
PREFERENCE & SELF-ESTEEM
Voice & Visibility: API Women’s Health Summit
May 18, 2011
Irvine, California

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Presenters
Jedrek Chua
University of California, Irvine
Public Health Policy & Urban Studies

Christine Lee
Biological Sciences & Anthropology

Allison Nguyen
Public Health Policy & Business Economics

Denise Tran
Public Health Sciences


CYWC QUANTITATIVE
STUDY FINDINGS
Methods & Demographics
Sex Selection


METHODS &
DEMOGRAPHICS


Methods
Online survey conducted through SurveyMonkey

Random sampling of 5000 full-time undergraduate females, 18-25 years of
age

Final sample size: N=1100

Questions included topics on:

Demographics Contraceptive choice

Association with Religion Views on abortion

Sex Education Sex selection

Sexual history Reproductive Technology


Demographic African American
Characteristics of our Latina/Chicana

Sample Population 2%
14%

API 50% White
22%
20%

15%
13%
10%
Multi-Racial
5%

0%
Chinese Vietnamese Filipina Korean South Asian


Religious Afﬁliation of UC Irvine
Campus
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Catholicism Christianity Buddhism Islam Hinduism Judaism Other


SEX
SELECTION


Poll

Do you believe boys are valued more in
Asian families?


What is Sex Selection?


Boys & Girls are Valued Equally
50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Agree* Neutral Disagree*

Agree*: Strongly Agree & Agree
Disagree*: Strongly Disagree & Disagree


Who are more valued?
60% 60%

45% 45%

30% 30%

15% 24% 15%
9%
0% 0%
Disagree* Neutral Agree* Disagree* Neutral Agree*

Boys more valued Girls more valued
than Girls than Boys


“All things considered, I believe that I,
as a woman, have as much opportunity as a man”
100%

75%

50%

25%

0%
Disagree* Neutral Agree*



Sex Choice of First-Born Child
40%

30%

20%
31%
10%
14%
0%
Boy Girl Do Not Not Sure No Children
Care Planned


Sex Choice if Only Child
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Boy Girl Do Not Care Not Sure


Sex Selection Reinforces Sexist Notions
50%

37.5%

25%
47%
12.5%
20%

0%
Disagree* Neutral Agree*


“Do you know people in your family or communities
who have used some sort of technology,
including abortion, to have a child of a speciﬁc sex?”

80%

60%

40%

20%
7%
0%
Yes No Not Sure


CYWC QUALITATIVE
STUDY FINDINGS (UROP)
Introduction to UROP
Qualitative Methods
Findings
Conclusion


INTRODUCTION TO
UROP


Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program (UROP)
How Sex Selection & Gender Preference Aﬀects Asian
American Women’s Self-Esteem & Self-Perception

Allison Nguyen
Christine Lee
Jedrek Chua
Denise Tran


Hypothesis

We propose that sex selection and
gender preference has an adverse impact
on the self-esteem and self-perception
of Asian American women.


Qualitative Methods
2 Focus Group Discussions [N=19]
Female Group [N=12]
Male Group [N=7]

Focus Group Included:
Pre-focus group questionnaire
Warm-up questions
Focus group discussion questions
Reﬂection
unintended consequence :)


Focus Group Discussion Questions
How Sex Selection & Gender Preference Affects Self-Esteem

How Sex Selection & Gender Preference Affects Self-Perception

How Self-Esteem Affects
Educational Opportunities
& Career Paths

Attitudes on Gender Roles
and Familial Responsibilities


Data Analysis
Transcribed both sets of focus group audio recordings
Generated transcripts totaling about 50 pages
Coded and created themes
Tabulated pre-focus group questionnaires
Discussed & interpreted emerging themes


Findings
Attitudes on gender roles and
How self-esteem affects
familial responsibilities
educational opportunities &
career paths
♂ Privileged in job-related
opportunities compared to
♀ Desire to be male for greater
women
freedom
♀ Get married, have families
♀ Need for push from parents
♂ Men to protect women
♀ Need for jobs with ﬁnancial
security
♀ Family life given priority

♂ Jobs ﬁrst, families later

♀ Gender-based chores


Findings

Familial Responsibilities
Expectations placed on older child
Educational Expectations
Emphasis placed on younger child


Conclusion

Parental Encouragement & Guidance

Careers with Financial Stability

Familial Responsibilities vs. Educational
Achievement


Conclusion
Limitations
Ethnic Composition of Focus Groups
Follow-Up Questions
Generation Gap and Acculturation
Retherford and Roy (2003)

Having open and honest discussion
Recruitment

Asian Characteristics


MOCK FOCUS GROUP
ACTIVITY


Mock Focus Group

1. What were some cultural expectations in
your family?


Mock Focus Group

2. Did you ever feel any pressure from your
parents to choose a speciﬁc major?


Mock Focus Group

3. Have you ever felt your gender dictated your
choice of major?


Mock Focus Group

4. How do your familial responsibilities diﬀer
from that of your sibling(s)?


Mock Focus Group

5. Are girls and boys VALUED equally within
your family?


Mock Focus Group

6. Do you think you would have more
opportunities if you were of the opposite
gender?


Mock Focus Group
7. If given a choice, would you like your ﬁrst
born child to be:

A boy
A girl
Do not care
Not sure
I am not planning to have children


Mock Focus Group
8. If, for whatever reason, you could not have
more than one child, what sex would you wish
for your only child to be?

A boy
A girl
Do not care
Not sure


THANK YOU! :)


Uncovering the Voices of API Women on Sex Selection, Gender Preference & Self-Esteem

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