Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site ucsfcgl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!arnold From: arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold%CGL) Newsgroups: net.women Subject: Re: "Traditional Values" Message-ID: <685@ucsfcgl.UUCP> Date: Mon, 28-Oct-85 19:24:36 EST Article-I.D.: ucsfcgl.685 Posted: Mon Oct 28 19:24:36 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 30-Oct-85 05:59:48 EST References: <274@fear.UUCP> <5798@tektronix.UUCP> <2722@ihuxf.UUCP> <664@ccice2.UUCP> <626@lasspvax.UUCP> Reply-To: arnold@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Ken Arnold) Organization: UCSF Computer Graphics Lab Lines: 32 Keywords: infanticide In article <626@lasspvax.UUCP> cheryl@lasspvax.UUCP (Cheryl Stewart) writes: >In article <664@ccice2.UUCP> pwk@ccice2.UUCP (Paul W. Karber) writes: >>In article <2722@ihuxf.UUCP> features@ihuxf.UUCP (aMAZon) writes: >>> You're absolutely right about most marriages being based >>>on economic grounds. A daughter was looked upon as another >>>commodity, like a cow or a goat. >> >>Are you trying to say that in the past people did not love their >>child unless it was male? > >In the past, many people KILLED their child unless it was male. >I'm not talking about 19th century amerikka, I'm talking about >more primitive cultures. > >The history of infanticide shows that it was limited to > > a) female infants > b) stepchildren and bastards Although I think Cheryl's response was, in general, quite correct, I must (well, I *will*) make an historical correction. The history of infanticide shows that infants in categories (a) and (b) were *more likely* to be killed than others. However, it was a well known practice among many groups (the ancient Greeks, for example) to expose male children who did not seem healthy, who were born under *very* bad auspices, or who came at times of personal poverty or community famine. People were much more willing to expose a female infant since it was also a long-range burden on the family, but it was in no sense *limited* to female, stepchildren, and bastards. Otherwise, a fine response, Cheryl. Ken Arnold