If You Would Be The Mother Of A Son

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Abstract
This poem literally describes the things men and women do before, during, and after conception in the hope of having a son. The social, religious and economic importance of sons in India is well known. The desire to have sons is an aspect of patriarchy and is part and parcel of the oppression, devaluation and exploitation of Indian women. This piece draws its data from two sources—ancient rites surrounding conception, and interviews with contemporary, middle-class urban women. The potency and persistence of the belief that parents can determine the sex of their child, the religious, mystical and symbolic nature of the methods used, and the fact that this is little more than an initial foray into a sparsely documented area, made me feel that a historical, sociological or medical analysis may be premature. In search of a more ‘expressive’ and descriptive form I have chosen verse.

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