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Everything in bold is my work as well as the new section I added: Benefits as well as the information beneath it

= Gender reveal = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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''This article is about meetings organized by parents-to-be. For involuntary disclosure of LGBT status, see Outing.''

A gender reveal cake sliced open with a pink middle layer suggesting a female baby

A gender reveal party is a celebration where either the guests, the expecting parents, or both find out the sex of the baby. This has become possible with the increasing accuracy of various technologies of prenatal sex discernment. For example, less than half way through the normal pregnancy, an ultrasound technician can visually determine the sex. If the parents decide they want to have a gender reveal party they will notify the technician before hand so they won't tell them during the appointment if they want to be surprised. There is also an early sex blood work exam that can be done as early as 7 weeks with 95 percent accuracy. Gender reveal parties will typically be held midterm so that the first trimester is surpassed and the chances of Miscarriage are low.

Contents


 * 1
 * Description
 * 2
 * Criticism
 * 3
 * See also
 * 4
 * References
 * 5
 * Further reading
 * References
 * 5
 * Further reading
 * Further reading

Description[edit]
See also: List of historical sources for pink and blue as gender signifiers

The gender reveal party can be seen as an analogue of the baby shower, which also employs the trope of pink (denoting a female) or blue (denoting a male) to designate gender. Although some believe that gender reveal parties serve to replace a common day Baby shower, they have recently begun accompanying them instead. However, it is typically held earlier, near the moment, formerly private, when parents learn the baby's predicted sex. '''While blue and pink are typically associated with gender differentiation, other creative symbols include: bucks and does, bows and bow ties, and a baseball and softball. Gender reveal parties also typically are open to men and women, unlike the traditionally all-female baby shower. In today's society, the most common demographic taking part in gender reveal parties are heterosexual, Caucasian couples.''' The rise of the gender reveal party seems "inextricably tied to social media." YouTube searches report that there are "more than 500,000 videos of expectant couples slicing cakes, setting off smoke bombs and bashing piñatas to expose one of two colors: pink or blue". The most common form of revelation of a fetus' gender is through the cutting of the cake which will show an inside appearance of either blue or pink. The first public video of a gender reveal was posted on YouTube in 2008.[1] It is said that the trend of gender reveal videos began to emerge on YouTube in mid 2011 and continued to grow in terms of uploads and views from then on. In 2017 there was 60 percent increase on gender reveal views compared to 2016.[2] Mediatization is the term used to describe the likelihood of more expectant couples to take part in gender reveal parties after seeing those produced in the media. The methods include the release of balloons from a box, spraying silly string in the air in the color of the gender, and painting the partner's hands and having them place it on a white shirt to reveal the gender to name a few. Not only do gender reveal parties include the revelation of the fetus' gender, but also provide gender prediction games for the attendees to participate in.

Benefits
Having a gender reveal party has positive benefits for the mother and family members that are involved in this journey. Expectant parents have the choice between keeping the sex a secret, even to themselves, until the party or hosting the party solely for the reveal to the family and friends. '''Some mothers decided to not only throw a gender reveal party but to know the gender of their baby in order to prepare for the birth properly. (room decoration, clothing, etc.). Bonding with the fetus while in the womb is something that is also promoted following the revelation of the fetus' gender.'''

Criticism[edit]
Josh Hafner has criticized the term "gender reveal" as a misnomer, as all available tests measure the child's sex, which may be distinguished from gender. Similarly, an issue surrounding gender reveal parties is the assignment of gender to the fetus' genitalia rather than the gender that the child performs. Hafner has also criticized such parties for perpetuating gender stereotypes through themes such as "Rifles or Ruffles?" and "Wheels or Heels?".[3]

Gender reveal parties have become much more popular due to cell-free fetal DNA testing being available as early as five weeks.[4] The DNA test is non-intrusive as it only requires blood from the mother. The tests are not perfectly accurate, and in cases of sex chromosome disorders or other abnormalities of development their results may not match those of fetal ultrasound.[4]

There have been specific instances reported in blogs as well as videos posted online of gender reveal parties going wrong when not done correctly. The inside of a box may be empty and the inside of the cake may not have the correct color or it isn't vibrant enough to distinguish the difference. According to religious scholar Florence Pasche Guignard, "it is interesting to ask whether or not someone (the sonographer, the person who baked the cake, or any intermediary person handling the information) will be blamed for a failure, and if the ritual should be repeated or 'repaired.'"[5] '''Gender reveal parties can result in failures when the mechanism used for the revelation malfunction. ie. lack of clarity in the color of the cake and empty revelation boxes.'''

A significant issue is that as many as 1% of infants are intersex (formerly known as androgynous or hermaphrodite), though it is incredibly difficult to determine the frequency of these cases.[6][7]Gender reveal parties become an issue when a pre-conceived idea of gender is placed into the heads of the family, when later in life, the child may choose to identify by the other gender.

Gender parties are also viewed as vain and unnecessary[ by whom?], a holiday championed by party supply companies in order to boost sales. Similarly, expectant mothers who hold non-traditional values tend to stray away from finding out the sex of their baby due to their strong rooted beliefs in gender equality.

'''The worry with revealing the sex of a fetus prior to birth is the negative history that this practice has had in foreign countries. The practice of sex-selective abortions has been seen throughout history and holds many moral and ethical implications.'''

See also[edit]

 * Transgender
 * Baby shower, another party before birth

References[edit]

 * ^ Gieseler, Carly (2017-02-09). "Gender-reveal parties: performing community identity in pink and blue". Journal of Gender Studies. 27 (6): 661–671. doi:10.1080/09589236.2017.1287066. ISSN 0958-9236.
 * ^ Pasche Guignard, Florence (September 2015). "A Gendered Bun in the Oven. The Gender-reveal Party as a New Ritualization during Pregnancy". Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses. 44(4): 479–500. doi:10.1177/0008429815599802. ISSN 0008-4298.
 * ^ Hafner, Josh (March 12, 2017). "Gender reveals: Insanely popular — and also outdated?". USA Today.
 * Jump up to:
 * a b Drabiak-Syed, Katherine (2010). "Baby Gender Mentor". Michigan State University Journal of Medicine and Law. 14 (1): 71–92.
 * ^ Pasche Guignard, Florence (September 2015). "A Gendered Bun in the Oven. The Gender-reveal Party as a New Ritualization during Pregnancy". Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses. 44(4): 479–500. doi:10.1177/0008429815599802. ISSN 0008-4298.
 * ^ Nelson, Caleb; Gearhart, John (2004). "Current views on evaluation, management and gender assignment of the intersex infant". Nature Clinical Practice Urology. 1 (1): 38–43. doi:10.1038/ncpuro0028. PMID 16474465.
 * ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (1993). "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough" (PDF). The Sciences.
 * ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (1993). "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough" (PDF). The Sciences.

Further reading[edit]

 * Gieseler, Carly (2018). "Gender-reveal parties: performing community identity in pink and blue". Journal of Gender Studies. 27 (6): 661–671. doi:10.1080/09589236.2017.1287066.
 * Nahata, Leena (2017). "The Gender Reveal: Implications of a Cultural Tradition for Pediatric Health". Pediatrics. 140 (6): e20171834. doi:10.1542/peds.2017-1834. PMID 29175971.