"Tough girls tend to give birth to boys" - article in the Times

[Socci]

See \link{http://women.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,17909-2070169,00.html\here}

well I am a softy

but also mega confident

and have 2 girls

I like cheese too

what a load of crud. Mind you I am sure that dh would agree with the 'macho men produce dds' line

It seems to me to be a one-woman campaign, and very much gives the impression of someone determined to prve herself right, as opposed to trying someone trying to test her hypothesis. This study (and I use the word loosely) seems to be based on about 30 cow's eggs. She may be right but I don't see any sign of anything that could be construed as proof just yet.

What I would like to know is what psychology/biology led me from exh ..one of five boys and one girl to dp one of five boys and one girl

I'm a complete wimp, but can come across as a bit of a harriden - and I have one of each. What does that mean?

I thought it was the sperm that decides the gender? I'm very confused...

I was tough but now am obviously soft as shite haivn ghad a dd after having had ds.
My ds isn't tough though, but my dd is

I've got 3 boys and I'm well 'ard

Loved 'boffins breed boys'

3 boys, my sisters have boys too and we are a bit of a tough family. I'm also extrememly logical and scientific (my Psychology grades above my re grades reflect this at Uni).

May be something in it? Who knows.

I think I must be the exception that proves the rule, or something.

Actually, I think it's "boffins breed boys" in our case. DH definitely has a systematizing mind.

adn my dh
he doesnt do emotional ranting

I'm also logical and scientific Peachy - did science A levels and degree in Physiology and Pharmacology. Still work in the medical field. Dh says I 'drive like a man' too, whatever that means!!

Oh but DH has a very macho job indeed (manages lorry drivers)

I am allergic to cheese and dairy so don't know what the dietary theroies are, but...

DH is a boffin, hoping to study animatronics after decades of building them in my kitchen (grrrrr)

RE: the large famillies, Nan had 16, 8 of each. Hardly proof, but a case study?

well I'm dead tough and assertive and I have 3 girls. I tend to assume it's cos DP spends too much time in a wetsuit (he teaches windsurfing) which - like cycling shorts - is supposed to kill off the male sperm.

am engineer, have two sons, am tough cookie.

all blokes have systematic minds dont they?

dhs is like a steel trap

I am fluffier [ahhhhhhhhh]

I do deffo wear the trousers

In fact I possibly am AS, so that backs up systematic thinking argument.

i'd still need to see a lot kore evidence before I committed to the theory . Interesting, though, and I imagine there's an ager Phd student somewhere wantng to test this.

turnips give birth to turnips - end of!

My mum was astern old mare and had 4 girls???

Load of old rubbish but FWIW my mother is hard as nails and had two girls. I'm very like my mother (nowhere near as tough but same analytical mind) and have a boy.

I'm probably in the tough girl category. Have 1 DD and 1 DS.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR I am woman, hear me roar (mother of a son).

I read ages ago that sex was also affected by how stressed Daddy was when baby was conceived - more stress = girl, low stress = boy.

Interesting. I know for sure that I have high testosterone (have been investigated for suspected infertility by an Endocrinologist), yet I have a daughter. Square that one up!

my stepmum's as tough as old boots & she had 2 girls. I don't think she even liked them when they were little! not a fibre of maternal instinct in her. maybe it's being a nurse & an ardent feminist? (tea-towel on wall in mid-70s: Husbands are not bosses. Children are not jobs.)

This was reported in the New Scientist about 3 or 4 years ago - interesting that it's taken this long to get into the newspapers!

The New Scientist slant was that women who were more suited to raising boys were more likely to have them, and those who were more suited to raising girls were more likely to have girls (i.e. less `girly' women have more sons and more girly women have more daughters).

Since reading the NS article, I've been noting that this often seems to be true, amongst my acquaintance anyway.

I'm not at all girly and have 2 dses, so I must be well mean then .