Final answer:
Societies typically exhibit more conservative attitudes towards sex ratios when there is an imbalance, particularly favoring men. This is observed in regions with lopsided sex ratios due to cultural biases, government policies like the One-Child Policy in China, and economic factors such as labor migration in the Middle East.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Guttentag and Secord theory, societies are typically more conservative regarding sex ratios when there is an imbalance favoring men over women. This attitude can be seen in countries with lopsided sex ratios due to various factors including cultural preferences, government policies, and economic conditions. For instance, in many oil-producing countries of the Middle East, the sex ratio is extremely skewed in favor of men, chiefly due to migration of male workers. Conversely, women far outnumber men in countries that these migrants originate from. Issues like the dowry system in India and the One-Child Policy in China have led to a societal preference for boys, resulting in heavily skewed sex ratios.
In such societies, these imbalances are linked to a host of societal outcomes, such as increased crime rates and ironically, an increase in population growth rate. China, for example, has faced a severe shortage of women, causing men in some provinces to migrate in search of wives, which challenges the conventional social structures. The sex ratio imbalance in a society substantially influences cultural attitudes, including those relating to gender roles and sexual conservatism, especially when there are limited opportunities for men in terms of employment or potential for marriage.