The Underlying Harms of Gender Reveal Parties
Files
Download Full Text
Class Name
TSOC 165 Introduction to Sociology
Instructor
Dr. Natalie Jolly
Abstract/Description
Gender reveal parties are an inherently transphobic cultural practice. The crux of gender reveal parties is that a patriarchal society found a way to start “doing gender” before an infant is born and can have gender projected onto them via a pink beanie or a blue beanie in the hospital. Patriarchy is adaptive in the way that it reduces the miracle of life to the gender binary before a baby is even born. The impact that gender reveal parties have on creating a transphobic society cannot be understated given the high rates at which trans people are victims of violent crimes or likely to die as a result of suicide and the increasingly dangerous stunts used to announce gender (plane crashes, wildfires, accidental bombs) and the way that impacts the rest of a society, even if they choose not to engage with this particular practice.
Date
2024
Keywords
gender reveal, social constructs, doing gender, gender performance, hegemonic masculinity, cultural norms
Disciplines
Gender and Sexuality | Sociology of Culture
Recommended Citation
Callahan, Katie, "The Underlying Harms of Gender Reveal Parties" (2024). Sociology Student Work Collection. 108.
https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/gender_studies/108
COinS
