Daughter

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A 1931 photograph of four generations of mothers and daughters Doddy4GenerationsAug1931A.jpg
A 1931 photograph of four generations of mothers and daughters
Anastasia and Sophia Mannerheim, the daughters of Marshal Mannerheim Anastasia and Sofia.webp
Anastasia and Sophia Mannerheim, the daughters of Marshal Mannerheim

A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups or elements. From biological perspective, a daughter is a first degree relative. The word daughter also has several other connotations attached to it, one of these being used in reference to a female descendant or consanguinity. It can also be used as a term of endearment coming from an elder.

Contents

In patriarchal societies, daughters often have different or lesser familial rights than sons. A family may prefer to have sons rather than daughters and subject daughters to female infanticide. [1] In some societies it is the custom for a daughter to be 'sold' to her husband, who must pay a bride price. The reverse of this custom, where the parents pay the husband a sum of money to compensate for the financial burden of the woman and is known as a dowry. The payment of a dowry can be found in societies where women do not labour outside the home.

The number next to each box in the Table of Consanguinity indicates the degree of relationship relative to the given person. Table of Consanguinity showing degrees of relationship.svg
The number next to each box in the Table of Consanguinity indicates the degree of relationship relative to the given person.
First lady of the United States Betty Ford with her daughter Susan Ford Photograph of Betty Ford with Daughter, Susan Ford - NARA - 186845.tif
First lady of the United States Betty Ford with her daughter Susan Ford

Perception

In the United States, the birth rate is 105 sons to 100 daughters which has been the natural birth rate since the 18th century. In the US, prospective parents seeking to adopt a child display a slight preference for girls over boys. [2] In fertility clinics that enable sex preferences, daughters are usually preferred over sons. [3] In the traditions of various Abrahamic religions, Luluwa is regarded as the first daughter to have ever existed. [4]

Daughters in literature

The role of the daughter has been an important theme in literature, especially when exploring relationships between family members and gender roles. Through exploration of the relationship between children and their parents, readers can draw conclusions about the impact of parenting style on the growth and development of a child's character and personality.

Notable daughters whose character and development has been impacted by their parents in literature have been: [5]

DaughterParent/sNovelAuthorYear
Elizabeth Bennet Mr Bennet & Mrs Bennet (née Gardiner) Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813
Jo March Marmee March Little Women Louisa May Alcott 1868
Francie NolanJohnny and Katie Nolan A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith 1943
Scout Finch Atticus Finch To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee 1960
Meg Murry Alex and Kate Murry A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L’Engle 1962
Astrid Magnussen Ingrid Magnussen and Klaus Anders White Oleander Janet Fitch 1999

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wife</span> Female spouse; woman who is married

A wife is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as a widow. The rights and obligations of a wife to her partner and her status in the community and law vary between cultures and have varied over time.

A dowry is a payment, such as land property, monetary, cattle or any commercial asset that is paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.

Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. Female infanticide is prevalent in several nations around the world. It has been argued that the low status in which women are viewed in patriarchal societies creates a bias against females. The modern practice of gender-selective abortion is also used to regulate gender ratios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal rights of women in history</span>

The legal rights of women refers to the social and human rights of women. One of the first women's rights declarations was the Declaration of Sentiments. The dependent position of women in early law is proved by the evidence of most ancient systems.

Bride burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in countries located on or around the Indian subcontinent. A form of dowry death, bride-burning occurs when a woman is murdered by her husband or his family for her family's refusal to pay additional dowry. The wife is typically doused with kerosene, gasoline, or other flammable liquid, and set alight, leading to death by burning. Kerosene is often used as the cooking fuel for small petrol stoves, some of which are dangerous, so it allows the claim that the crime was an accident. It is most common in India and has been a major problem there since at least 1993.

Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide over disputes about dowry. Dowry deaths are found predominantly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran. For context, dowry are the material exchange that the brides give the groom's side in the course of a wedding.

Arranged marriage is a tradition in the societies of the Indian subcontinent, and continues to account for an overwhelming majority of marriages in the Indian subcontinent. Despite the fact that romantic love is "wholly celebrated" in both Indian mass media and folklore, and the arranged marriage tradition lacks any official legal recognition or support, the institution has proved to be "surprisingly robust" in adapting to changed social circumstances and has defied predictions of decline as India modernized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Nepal</span>

The status of women in Nepal has varied throughout history. In the early 1990s, like in some other Asian countries, women in Nepal were generally subordinate to men in virtually every aspect of life. Historically, Nepal has been a predominantly patriarchal society where women are generally subordinate to men. Men were considered to be the leader of the family and superior to women. Also, social norms and values were biased in favor of men. This strong bias in favor of sons in society meant that daughters were discriminated against from birth and did not have equal opportunities to achieve all aspects of development. Daughters were deprived of many privileges, including rights, education, healthcare, parental property rights, social status, last rites of dead parents, and were thought to be other's property and liabilities. In the past century, there has been a dramatic positive change in the role and status of women in Nepal, reducing gender inequality. While the 1990 Constitution guaranteed fundamental rights to all citizens without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, caste, religion, or sex, the modernization of society, along with increased education of the general population, have also played an important role in promoting gender equality. The roles of women have changed in various ways in the modern Nepalese society.

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Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaker may be used to find a spouse for a young person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bride buying</span> Trade of purchasing a bride

Bride buying or bride purchasing is the cultural practice of providing some form of payment in exchange for a bride. The payment may be made to the bride's father, family, or a separate agent. It is the converse of a dowry. Illegal in some countries, it has a firm foothold in parts of Asia and Africa. It may amount to a form of slavery when treated as a transfer of property from one "owner" to another.

Female foeticide in India is the abortion of a female foetus outside of legal methods. A research by Pew Research Center based on Union government data indicates foeticide of at least 9 million females in the years 2000–2019. The research found that 86.7% of these foeticides were by Hindus, followed by Sikhs with 4.9%, and Muslims with 6.6%. The research also indicated an overall decline in preference for sons in the time period.

For years, the census data in China has recorded a significant imbalance in the sex ratio toward the male population, meaning there are fewer women than men. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the missing women or missing girls of China. China's official census report from 2000 shows that there were 117 boys for every 100 girls. The sex imbalance in some rural areas is even higher, at 130 boys to 100 girls, compared to a global average of 105 or 106 boys to 100 girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female infanticide in Pakistan</span> Deliberate killing of female newborns in Pakistan

Female infanticide in Pakistan had been a common practice. But it is no longer a common practice due to steps taken by local polices and Governments and Ordinances.

The dowry system in India refers to the durable goods, cash, and real or movable property that the bride's family gives to the groom, his parents and his relatives as a condition of the marriage. Dowry is called "दहेज" in Hindi and as جہیز in Urdu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bride price</span> Money or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the family of the bride

Bride price, bride-dowry, bride-wealth, bride service or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dowry is equivalent to dowry paid to the groom in some cultures, or used by the bride to help establish the new household, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. Some cultures may practice both simultaneously. Many cultures practiced bride dowry prior to existing records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child marriage in South Sudan</span>

Child marriage is a marriage or union between a child under the age of 18 to another child or to an adult. Child marriage is common in a multitude of African countries. In South Sudan, child marriage is a growing epidemic. Child marriage in South Sudan is driven by socioeconomic factors such as poverty and gender inequality. Current figures state that South Sudan is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to child marriage. Child marriage has negative consequences for children, including health problems and lower education rates for South Sudanese girls. Many initiatives have been taken to combat child marriage in South Sudan, but the presence of societal norms and instability continues to drive its presence in the nation.

Son preference in China is a gender preference issue underpinned by the belief that boys have more value than girls. In China, the bias towards male over female offspring is demonstrated by the sex ratio at birth (SRB).

References

  1. Stein, Dorothy (1988). "Burning Widows, Burning Brides: The Perils of Daughterhood in India". Pacific Affairs. 61 (3): 465–485. doi:10.2307/2760461. JSTOR   2760461.
  2. Baccara, Mariagiovanna; Collard-Wexler, Allan; Felli, Leonardo; Yariv, Leeat (November 2013). "Child adoption matching: preferences for gender and race" (PDF). LSE Research Online: 1. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  3. Rosin, Hanna (8 June 2010). "The End of Men". theatlantic.com.
  4. Cole, Andrew. "Jewish Apocrypha and Christian Epistemologies of the Fall: The Dialogi of Gregory the Great and the Old Saxon Genesis." Rome and the North: The Early Reception of Gregory the Great in Germanic Europe: 157-188
  5. "30 of the Best Parents in Literature". 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2018-04-29.

5. Britannica. (n.d.). Dowry. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/dowry.