Gender reveal party

The gender reveal party developed in the late 2000s. An early example was recorded in the 2008 posts of Jenna Karvunidis on her ChicagoNow blog High Gloss and Sauce announcing the sex of her fetus via a cake; she had previously had several miscarriages and wished to celebrate that her pregnancy had developed to the point that the sex of the fetus could be determined. In 2017, Dr. Carly Gieseler compared the practices saying "while traditional baby showers have been located in the feminine realm, the gender-reveal party invites male partners and community members to this celebration." This mediatization has significantly boosted the likelihood of expectant parents to have or take part in gender reveal parties. Internet remix culture lends the practice great receptivity toward individual creativity, a factor in their growing popularity. == Planning the event ==

The focus of gender reveal parties being the fetal sex, such information is a prerequisite. This can be determined at or after the gestational age required by the method being used. For ultrasound, the most common method, the earliest this can be reliably done is approximately 65 days, but it is typically done at around 20 weeks. Both the determination of fetal sex and the party are typically held during the second trimester. Post-examination knowledge of the fetal sex by the parents varies. Most commonly, a third party (sometimes called a "gender guardian") is entrusted with the information, and it remains a secret from the parents until the reveal. This person is responsible for making party arrangements to ensure the reveal happens without the prior knowledge of the parents. In other cases, it is already known to one or both parents, and the reveal is specifically for attendees. To help maintain the mystery, party decorations are typically heavily gendered, but ambiguous when taken as a whole. == During the event ==

-themed gender reveal party featuring "Team Pink" vs. "Team Blue". While the focus remains on the fetal sex, the reveal is typically the climax of the party. Prior to the reveal, party games are common, in which attendees or expecting parents guess or assert the fetal sex. This can also take the form of competition between a "Team Pink" and "Team Blue" which parents or participants may join. Sometimes the event includes features of a baby shower. If this is the case, gifts may be given or opened at a specific time. The reveal Most reveal methods utilize gender-associated colors, most typically blue and pink representing male and female respectively, decorated with other gender-associated items. The method of reveal varies; common methods involve cutting special cakes, launching or popping balloons, confetti, streamers, piñatas, colored smoke, and Silly String. Other seasonally-related items such as Easter eggs, Jack-o'-lanterns, Christmas presents, or Fourth of July or New Year's fireworks may also be incorporated depending on time of pregnancy. Once these colors are revealed, both the expecting parents and onlookers are made aware of the fetus's sex, typically to great celebration and comment by attendees. The announcement of a predetermined, sex-dependent baby name may also take place. == Criticism ==

The term "gender reveal" is considered a misnomer by those who believe in a distinction between sex and gender. Furthermore, gender reveal parties rely heavily on the assumption that the child will not be intersex, which occurs in an estimated 1 in 4,500–5,500 births. Gender reveal parties have been argued to reinforce gender essentialism, precluding and minimizing transgender identity. The practice has also been criticised for sometimes involving dangerous stunts and animal abuse. After the El Dorado Fire in 2020, Karvunidis decried the parties and pleaded for people to stop having them. == Incidents and injuries ==

was ignited by gender reveal pyrotechnics, burned of forest and killed one firefighter Some instances of attempted spectacular special effects at gender reveal events have caused injury, death, and large-scale damage: • The 2017 Sawmill Fire in Arizona was caused by a gender reveal party that combined blue powder and Tannerite. Other dangerous stunts have involved fireworks and alligators. • In October 2019, a woman was killed in Knoxville, Iowa, by flying shrapnel from the explosion of an improvised explosive device meant to reveal her grandchild's gender. The device, made from a metal cylinder packed with gunpowder and colored baby powder, was intended to project a display vertically, but the tape covering its top, which caused overpressure when the gunpowder was ignited, led it to explode and fragment in a manner similar to a pipe bomb. The force of the explosion was such that the shrapnel fragment that killed the victim continued through the air for another before coming to a rest in a field adjacent to the property where the party was taking place. • In September 2020, a gender reveal pyrotechnic device started the El Dorado Fire near Yucaipa, California, destroying homes, prompting evacuations, burning thousands of acres, and causing the death of one firefighter. • On February 21, 2021, the accidental explosion of an in-development gender reveal device in Liberty, New York, killed the father-to-be and injured his younger brother. • On March 29, 2021, two people were killed when a plane crashed in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Mexico near Cancún while carrying a trailing sign that read "It's a girl!" • On September 2, 2023, a Piper PA-25 Pawnee crop duster crashed during a gender reveal party in Navolato, Sinaloa, Mexico. The plane had been employed to drop pink powder over the party, but crashed during the maneuvre when the aircraft's left wing separated from the fuselage. The pilot died on the way to the hospital. • In May 2025, video emerged of Israeli soldiers detonating explosives they had placed in a Gazan residential building, leveling it and releasing blue smoke; they laughed that it was a "gender reveal" and "it's a boy". == Transgender inclusion ==

Some families of transgender people host gender reveal parties for transgender family members who come out during these parties. == Explanatory notes ==