Raising A Baby Girl: The Sociological Perspective

Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior. Webster's Dictionary defines a perspective as a "view of things in their true relationship or importance". Therefore, the sociological perspective provides viewpoints used to look at human behaviors and interactions as they relate to individuals and groups within a society. The sociological perspective stresses that to understand humans, not what is inside of them, but instead the external factors influencing them, should be observed. There are several theoretical perspectives in sociology that are used to understand social relationships and behaviors. The three theoretical perspectives discussed here are symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.

Symbolic
To understand why they are killed, Interactionists look at what makes people kill them. Raising a girl is very expensive in India. The meaning that Indians attach to the birth of a baby girl is that of a burden to the family. However, western cultures tend to think of every child as a gift and a blessing, no matter what gender. A doctor interviewed for a TV documentary said that she does not report families that kill their infant girls, because it is a generally accepted societal practice. A lot of people are poor and few can afford the cost associated with raising a girl. When getting married, the groom's family is paid a dowry for taking over the obligation of the bride. Getting back to the doctor, comparing her own conduct to that of others, she does not find anything wrong with not reporting those murders since others do not report them either. By her own admission, however, if others were to begin reporting the murders of infant girls, she would then adjust her own conduct accordingly and also start to report the killings. The response to the killings depends on the meaning and significance that is attached to that death, and right now the doctor sees it as insignificant and not worth