Did Oberyn abandon his sons?

[TimJames]

We know that Oberyn has nine known bastards who he raises in his home. All nine of those Sand Snakes are girls.

I shouldn't have to explain the mathematical improbality in this, but I will anyway. In conception, there is a 50/50 chance of the baby being a boy or a girl. The odds of him producing XX over XY nine times in a row are not very high.

Is it possible that the Sand Snakes are not Oberyn's only children, but simply the only ones he bothered to track down and raise?

[Criston of House Shapper]

I don't think the probabilities are that low. I know a guy who has 7 daughters and no sons. There's a 1 in 256 chance of Oberyn having 8 (not 9?) daughters and no sons. That's a lot better odds than winning the lottery, yet that still happens all the time as well. So I guess it's just coincidence that he hasn't fathered any sons.

[Ronfried_IV]

Do I hear the sound a tinfoil "oberyn sacrifices his sons to the Others theory" beeing created`?

[nikstar3]

Do I hear the sound a tinfoil "oberyn sacrifices his sons to the Others theory" beeing created`?

 

Oberyn working with Roose Bolt-On confirmed!

[ThePrunesThatWasPromised]

Oberyn is Monster from the future.

[A-Faceless-Woman]

I don't think the probabilities are that low. I know a guy who has 7 daughters and no sons. There's a 1 in 256 chance of Oberyn having 8 (not 9?) daughters and no sons. That's a lot better odds than winning the lottery, yet that still happens all the time as well. So I guess it's just coincidence that he hasn't fathered any sons.

 ^That 

+ the fact that all of his bastards have different mothers, which, in my opinion, increase the odds of being able to have only daughters. 

 

ETA: else, Oberyn knows that women are better weapons and wanted to create an special squad of women. 

[Frey Kings]

Oberyn + Renly + Loras sitting in a tree... k-i-s-s-i-n-g

[aryagonnakill#2]

How the hell does sleeping with multiple women increase the odds of birthing women?!?  OP, I agree, the odds are ridiculously low, which is 1 of the reasons I believe Darkstar is his son.

 

For the record, more babies are born male than female, but more males die before adulthood, so by 18 there are actually more women, at least in developed countries today.

 

BTW, even assuming 50/50 the odds of having 9 kids all being female is .19%.

[Rickon will return]

Davos had eight sons, and I think it's safe to say he never got rid of of his daughters.

Having eight children of the same gender is unlikely, but far from impossible, as said above.
Also, given Oberyn's lifestyle, he may have other children he doesn't know about.

[A-Faceless-Woman]

How the hell does sleeping with multiple women increase the odds of birthing women?!?  OP, I agree, the odds are ridiculously low, which is 1 of the reasons I believe Darkstar is his son.

 

For the record, more babies are born male than female, but more males die before adulthood, so by 18 there are actually more women, at least in developed countries today.

 

BTW, even assuming 50/50 the odds of having 9 kids all being female is .19%.

When I first thought about it, it seemed evident to me. I mean, it's like 50% chance with each, not with the same, which can be weird. I don't know, I'm probably wrong but in my head it makes sense (I'm not a cartesian person though). 

[direpoodle]

Davos had eight sons, and I think it's safe to say he never got rid of of his daughters.

Having eight children of the same gender is unlikely, but far from impossible, as said above.
Also, given Oberyn's lifestyle, he may have other children he doesn't know about.

This.

[Raving Stark the Mad]

It's not always a 50/50 shot.  It all depends on the genetics, what kind of swimmers Oberyn has, and depends on some timing. 

 

My father had 3 sons.  My brother has two sons.  I have two sons.   That's 7 Ys in a row.

 

Second, my guess is that Oberyn typically isn't timing himself.  He's probably hitting it whenever he can, which increases the possibility of a girl.  If you are consistently making deposits, the chances are that the majority of swimmers at the time of ovulation will be X.  X live longer. 

[direpoodle]

We know that Oberyn has nine known bastards who he raises in his home. All nine of those Sand Snakes are girls.

I shouldn't have to explain the mathematical improbality in this, but I will anyway. In conception, there is a 50/50 chance of the baby being a boy or a girl. The odds of him producing XX over XY nine times in a row are not very high.

Is it possible that the Sand Snakes are not Oberyn's only children, but simply the only ones he bothered to track down and raise?

Also, there isn't an exact 50/50 chance for every baby. The man's genes skew the sexes of the child one way or another. So, a man with mostly brothers is more likely to have sons, and a man with more sisters is more likely to have daughters. In Oberyn's case, he had more brothers than sisters, so it is odd that he had mostly daughters, but as other posters have pointed out, it isn't impossible and he may not know if he had any sons.

[sarah.jenice]

There are a lot of things in the series that would be a stretch in reality. I don't really see us being introduced to sons of Oberyn that he didn't know about/hid their existence at this point. That said, considering how many people he supposedly slept with, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that he has other bastards out there that he doesn't know exist (see Robert).

[Philpenn]

My Dad's Mother was one of 16 girls. Her twin and her were the babies too. At one point, my Great Grandfather, having 15 girls, gave having a boy one more shot and got twin girls.

[Raving Stark the Mad]

Depth of penetration also plays a part.  It's possible that Oberyn either prefers positions that limit depth, such as missionary, or that Oberyn does not pack as much length.

[Westorosi Batgirl]

Depth of penetration also plays a part.  It's possible that Oberyn either prefers positions that limit depth, such as missionary, or that Oberyn does not pack as much length.

It's not the length of the Spear that matters but how you use it.

[ThePrunesThatWasPromised]

There's a reason he's the Red Viper, not the Spitting Cobra.

[40 Thousand Skeletons]

Holy shit people let's review science for a second, some people are spewing crazy nonsense:

 

1. Gender is determined by whatever type of sperm reaches the egg. A sperm can have an X chromosome or a Y chromosome.

2. 100% of men create exactly 50% X sperm and 50% Y sperm, because the cells that sperm come from all have X and Y chromosomes.

3. Since there is a physical difference between X and Y chromosomes themselves, outside factors can very slightly influence the gender of the child (like, male sperm swim faster)

4. Oberyn had, like stated above, essentially a 1 in 256 chance of having 8 girls

[RGBeyondAsshai]

Since I'm related to a man and woman who had 7 daughters, and there's this whole folklore  based on seventh son of the seventh son, I'm going to have to say it's possible to have either all male or all female progeny.