The Odd Reason A Man Believes His Wife Is To Blame For Only Having Daughters And Not Sons
It was alarming that he didn’t understand biology and chose to blame his wife instead.
Voronaman / Shutterstock.com In a Reddit post to the “AITA” forum, a woman revealed that her husband “blamed” her for only birthing daughters — holding onto a great deal of resentment that he’d never been able to have a son.
“He explained how he was disappointed about having a girl,” she wrote. “But then said, ‘I should’ve expected this because I you have 3 sisters.'”
The woman’s husband argued that she was ‘the reason’ they only had daughters and no sons — ‘I told him that’s not how biology works.’
In an argument that ultimately ended quite poorly, the woman shared that her husband blamed her for only having daughters — something she never really knew upset him before. Trying to explain to him that genetically (and figuratively, literally, and metaphorically) he was wrong was no easy task.
“I’m 30,” the woman wrote. “[My husband and I] have 2 daughters and are currently pregnant with [our] 3rd girl. We just found out this morning.”
He believed it was ‘the woman’s genetics’ and her siblings’ gender that determined the sex of their children at birth.
“I explained that me having 3 sisters has nothing to do with the gender of our child. He said it’s genetics… I told him that’s not how biology works; he said it is,” she bluntly wrote. “He then went on to explain that his mom only has brothers and his two oldest brothers both have two sons because of his mom’s side.”
A quick Google search could’ve easily ended this argument, as many — if not all — scientific sources online confirm that a baby’s sex is determined by the father. With female parents only being able to pass on an X sex chromosome, and male ones passing either X or Y — the combination of that determines the gender.
“He was getting frustrated, but I was just laughing at him,” she wrote.
If you’ve ever taken a high school course on biology and genetics, it’s pretty clear that this man’s “opinion” on a baby’s assigned sex at birth is misguided — if not just entirely wrong. However, in an effort to avoid correction from his wife and in a deafeningly loud display of fragile egotism, he suggested they instead seek the wisdom of his biologist mother.
Of course, when he asked his ‘biologist mother’, she confirmed that he was incorrect, reminding him that it’s the man’s biology that determines sex at birth.
After arguing back and forth, her husband decided to ask his mother, with a biology degree, who was right. “Why is this grown man running for mommy?” one commenter jokingly, yet seriously, asked. “Does he not know how to use Google?”
“We get to his parents’ house for brunch, and he asks his mom if ‘I’m the reason’ we kept having girls,” she said. “She told him bluntly that the man determines the [sex at birth], and it’s actually not a 50/50 chance… He just walked to the car and said he’s going for a drive.”
While she knew her husband would be a little upset, she never expected that he’d walk out. The conversation was purely informative, never condescending. “I received a text from him saying that ‘I didn’t have to embarrass him like that.’ I was so confused.”
Josep Suria / Shutterstock.com
Of course, genetics is all a game of chance — like anything else in life. There are certain sex chromosomes and familial genetics that play a role in determining something like sex at birth, but at the end of the day, nothing is 100%. Commenters argued the only thing that’s clearly 100% is this husband’s ignorance.
It’s okay to not know something — of course — but check Google, call your mom, or read an article before accusing your wife of “sabotaging” your dream of having a son “You’re not the [expletive],” one person wrote, supporting this Reddit woman. “You might want to give that man some access to the internet so he can do some research... Knowledge empowers.”
“Genetics is a game of chance, for sure,” another person empathized, only to add that “a biologist could give birth to an idiot.”
If this woman’s husband wasn’t already “embarrassed” enough at being called out for his lack of basic biology, commenters showed him no mercy. But at the end of the day, their criticism only served as a humbling reminder to never question a mother’s knowledge concerning her body and having children.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.