The Odds Are Against the Boys

Take a look at this list. One example. For every 100 girls aged 15 to 24 who die 277 boys die. And boys have to face greater odds on getting even that far then girls.

2 Responses to “The Odds Are Against the Boys”

  1. Matt says:

    A document full of statistics. I might never get any work done.

    “For every 100 girls that are conceived 115 boys are conceived. For every 100 girl babies born there are 105 boy babies born.”

    I find that interesting. Either boys are more likely to be aborted, or boys are more likely to result in a miscarriage?

    “For every 100 fourth grade girls who do one or more hours of homework each day 92 boys do the same. For every 100 fourth grade girls who watch television four or more hours per day 123 boys do.”

    This one amuses me, because it paints a comical image, yet it’s so true.

    “For every 100 girls enrolled in tenth grade there are 94 boys enrolled.”

    Whoa! Boys were “leading” everything in terms of population. 100 girls in elementary = 107 boys in elementary. In fact:

    “For every 100 girls enrolled in ninth grade there are 101 boys enrolled.”

    Although perhaps it’s just that it’s not a longitudinal study?

    “For every 100 tenth grade girls who play video or computer games one or more hours per day 322 boys play video or computer games one or more hours per day.”

    Ha! This one doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. (Actually, based on the demographics of our gaming club in school, I’m surprised men “only” lead 3:1.)

    “For every 100 tenth grade girls who work on hobbies at least once a week 104 tenth grade boys work on hobbies.”

    This question suddenly made me wonder about reporting bias. Were kids just given a survey? Because I can totally see myself being made to fill out a survey in the 10th grade asking, “Do you work on hobbies at least once a week?” and thinking, “I’m sick of this thing.”

    “For every 100 tenth grade girls who do things with friends at least once a week 77 boys do things with friends.”

    For every 100 tenth grade girls whose minds were in the gutter while reading that, 10,000 tenth grade boys whose minds were in the gutter read this.

    “For every 100 girls enrolled in eleventh grade there are 109 boys enrolled.”

    See! I think it was just a population dip in 10th grade.

    “For every 100 high school girls who felt too unsafe to go to school 104 boys felt the same way.”

    (a) 100 people who think it’s too unsafe to go to school is a major problem, IMHO.
    (b) I find the gender discrepancy, however slight, strange here.

    “For every 100 twelfth grade girls who carried a weapon on school property 287 boys carried a weapon.”

    The gender discrepancy doesn’t surprise me here, but again, 100 people who carry weapons to school is too many.

    “For every 100 twelfth grade girls who used marijuana on school property 205 boys did.”

    How the hell do you use marijuana on school property and go unnoticed?

    “For every 100 girls diagnosed with a special education disability 217 boys are diagnosed with a special education disability.”

    This seems statistically improbable. Although I admit I’m totally out of my field.

    “For every 100 girls 6 to 14 years old who have difficulty getting along with others 183 boys have difficulty getting along with others.”

    They’re boys? 😉

    “For every 100 girls 6 to 14 years old with mental retardation 302 boys have mental retardation.”

    That fascinates me. Previous questions made me think there was a reporting bias, with more boys than girls being diagnosed with learning disabilities. But mental retardation isn’t something that’s easy to misdiagnose, so I find the 3:1 discrepancy here quite interesting.

    “For every 100 women enrolled in college there are 77 men enrolled.”

    Again, I find this strange. Every college I looked at had materially more guys than girls.

    “For every 100 women ages 18 to 21 in correctional facilities there are 1430 men behind bars.”

    Yikes. Although this doesn’t surprise me much.

    “For every 100 women living in military quarters there are 642 men living in military quarters.”

    This one does, but for the fact that men “only” lead 6:1. Assuming (perhaps erroneously?) that “living in military quarters” is the same as “serving in the military,” that means that women account for about 15% of our armed forces. For whatever reason, it still seems like women in the armed forces is more of a ‘fringe’ thing. (Glad to see that’s not the case.)

  2. Mr. T says:

    Boys are more likely to result in a miscarriage. Girls are actually more likely to be aborted although that is a lot more true in China and India where it is rapidly becoming a serious problem.

    You much have been looking at mostly geek schools if there were more men than women. Generally women outnumber men at more and more colleges all the time.

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