Sex selection and feminist “internet-works”

This article explores sex selection and its specific intersection with son preference which, as a women’s rights and ethical issue, has come to have local and global significance. The international and global dimensions of sex selection, as argued in this article, can partially be attributed to the use of the internet by both clinics advertising their sex selection services and women’s and medical organisations opposing the practice. The article focuses upon the manner in which the internet has been used as a medium for advertising by clinics, as well as a political tool by medical and women’s organisations campaigning against the practice. It looks at the use of the internet by sex selection service providers as well as in political campaigns raising awareness about the practice of pre-sex selective methods and sex selective abortions. The internet has provided an important medium through which feminist networks have been fostered and formed in challenging sex selection, or “son selection” as some women’s organisations have called it. The internet (the worldwide web and email) has been an indispensable tool for anti-sex selection campaigns which have utilized it in raising awareness about the issue, often facilitating the formation of feminist networks.