Too Many Men?

A new study predicts that there could be at least 4.7 million fewer females born globally by 2030 (and possibly as many as 22 million by 2100) as a result of a preference for male children. Allow me to mansplain why that's not great news.

In some countries, upcoming generations may be overwhelmingly male—as cultural pressures cause expecting parents to bring only their male embryos to term. Already, sex-selective abortions have resulted in skewed sex ratios at birth in favor of males around the world.

According to Neoscope, scientists fear that the overabundance of men will, just based on basic math, struggle to find a partner and marry. That, they warn, will likely lead to violence and even worse treatment of women.

The United Nations identifies the sex selection of babies before birth as a harmful practice on a par with child marriage and genital mutilation. To break that cycle, the researchers call for closer monitoring of newborn demographics in the relevant countries (within Southeast Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia).