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[–]Aloudmeow 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Isn’t that just a fancy term for baby showers?

[–]MarkTwainiac 15 insightful - 3 fun15 insightful - 2 fun16 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

No, baby showers used to be gatherings (usually during daylight) for pregnant women in the late stage of pregnancy in which she got baby-related gifts, most of them practical ones like newborn clothing, diaper bags, a bassinette, stroller, etc. Traditionally, showers were attended only by other female people, though in and since the 70s & 80s sometimes men attended too.

"Gender reveal" parties are much grander affairs usually attended by both men & women in which a pregnant woman or expectant couple reveal the sex of their baby, so that they & everyone in their social circle can immediately get going with the important tasks of a) imposing regressive sex stereotypes & restrictive, sexist expectations on the baby before it's even born; and b) rushing off to buy clothing & baby items in either pink & blue, as well as toys, games & other tat sexistly divided as being either "for girls" or "for boys."

Often the baby's sex is revealed in a dramatic way - like setting off fireworks or other pyrotechnics as in this case. And some "gender reveal" parties are held at night & involve a lot of heavy drinking.

People nowadays who have "gender reveal" parties to celebrate imposing regressive sex stereotypes on unborn children usually do so in the second trimester of pregnancy, whereas baby showers were customarily held towards the end of the third trimester, far closer to the time of birth. Many people nowadays have both a gender reveal in the second trimester & a baby shower in the third - and the gifts they'll receive at the shower are usually sex-stereotyped depending on what was revealed about the baby's sex at the earlier "gender reveal" party.

[–]Immortallogic 10 insightful - 3 fun10 insightful - 2 fun11 insightful - 3 fun -  (0 children)

Lmao perfect way to describe it.

It's also just another consumerism tactic where couples will spend useless money on shit they don't need for the party.

It's also very much about posting it all on social media of course, otherwise.... Did it even happen?