Explanations for the different comparative values of sons and daughters have focused on economic and cultural factors including the type of agriculture, kinship systems, customs concerning the linkages between parents and offspring after marriage and socio-economic activity. Are differences in these factors sufficient to explain the 'Bermuda Triangle for girls' of west-central UP and the surrounding districts as revealed by the sex ratio map of the 1991 Census? This article examines the hypothesis that families in west-central UP want (or need) more sons than families elsewhere because additional sons enhance their capacity to literally defend themselves or to exercise their power by investigating the correlation of sex ratio with violence in the state.