Full disclosure before you read more: this is a curmudgeon post, not my usual sunshine and rainbows. It’s just how I feel. I support everyone’s choices (okay, maybe not the one with the live alligator, but I’m getting ahead of myself…)
9 Reasons Gender Reveals Make Me Uneasy
Many of them involve contraptions that emit pink or blue smoke. It’s dramatic (which is cool and makes for great pictures) but (and I realize this is a bit of an optical illusion) it appears to suffocate all the celebrants.
The “shooting” imagery weirds me out. This is often part of the “smoke” gender reveals (but also part of the “confetti” gender reveals). Sometimes, the father-to-be is pointing the shooting mechanism that is going to emit the smoke or the confetti at the pregnant woman. What’s up with that?
The sharp objects involved are so … evil-looking. Especially with those ubiquitous black balloons filled with pink or blue mini-balloons, someone has to wield a sharp object to pop the thing. It’s strange to me. (Related: one gender reveal I saw had a complicated (and, honestly, very cool-looking) balloon creation that replicated the mother. The gender reveal was done by inserting a sharp object into the balloon “belly,” which then released the gender-disclosing balloons. It was seriously disturbing to watch the real mom plunge the sharp implement into the balloon belly.)
They are pretentious. Not all gender reveals are pretentious. Some are simple and elegant at the same time. But the extravagant productions make me scratch my head. Some are so over the top.
They freak the siblings out. I have seen multiple gender reveal videos where a toddler is totally intimidated by the smoke, the general hullabaloo, or the sight of their parents jumping around like lunatics in celebration. (While, of course, the photographer hired to document the occasion tries to capture the picture-perfect shot that captures the family’s bliss and glee.)
Something could go wrong. Granted, this is just the way I think about the world (despite my Optimism Light persona). But what if the vendor packed pink balloons instead of blue? What if someone is allergic to tinted smoke? What if the sharp implement slips? What if the car with the special burnout packet designed to emit tinted smoke has an accident or runs into a participant? My list goes on and on. In addition, unless people get a chromosomal analysis, ultrasounds have been wrong.
“Flaming balls”? There’s a particular type of firework that emits “flaming balls.” Here’s an example I saw on Instagram.
“Shoots flaming balls.” What could possibly go wrong?
The mixed messages are off-putting. I love a good theme as much as the next person, but some of the messages (and the way they are implemented) make me want to wash my hands). Specifically, there’s an entire genre of “here for the sex” products and themes. One Gender Reveal video I saw showed the mom, dad and a sibling who appeared to be around 9 years old cutting into an “I’m here for the sex” cake. How did they explain what “here for the sex” means?
Our society is at a different place about gender norms. A few popular themes include “quarterback or cheerleader,” “boots or bows,” “staches or lashes” and “cupcake or stud muffin.” You can peruse many more through this link. It would be dishonest of me to say that my expectations during my pregnancies didn’t align pretty much with traditional “pink or blue” and “ballerina or ball player” thoughts. My kids are both cisgender and my daughter is a ballerina while my son is a car guy, but something about these themes seems at odds with an increasing awareness of intersectionality and the growing acknowledgement in society that many people don’t identify as strictly male or female. I suppose it’s a topic for a different post (or, honestly, coffee in person — gender fluidity is something that takes nuance and diplomacy, in my opinion) but I suppose ultimately what I would rather a reveal predict is “this kid is going to be an amazing, compassionate, capable human being who makes the world a better place!”
BUT
I’m going to pull myself out of curmudgeon land for a moment to say this: Sometimes a gender reveal is the right thing to do and brings joy to everyone around. I may differ on how people choose to share details as their pregnancies progress (one wish I have regarding mine is that I had waited to be surprised regarding the gender of one of my children, honestly), but ultimately whether someone finds out at all, chooses to share the information, posts a simple picture to Instagram or puts on a lavish party, a new baby brings hope. The biggest thing a Gender Reveal shows is that we can all put aside the pessimism so predominant in our world today for a moment to celebrate new beginnings.
Here’s one that doesn’t get a complete curmudgeon vote from me. I admire this family for finding a way to celebrate their new arrival even though they are physically separated*:
*And I acknowledge that this gender reveal leaves some people (including me) with a not-so-great feeling because it implies the gender (male) is what the dad prefers. Otherwise, it makes me happy.
Ed. Note: The New York times published It’s a Girl! It’s a Boy! And for the Gender-Reveal Cake, It May Be the End on 6/17/19. I wonder if the trend is on its way out.
Also worth a read: The Mom Blogger Who Had The First Viral Gender Reveal Has A New Perspective After Raising Her Daughter
And: “Gender Reveal” Celebration in Texas Led to a Plane Crash (paywall)
I am linking this post with Kat Bouska’s blog this week, for the prompt “Write a blog post in exactly 9 lines.” I fudged a bit but there are nine specific lines here about my topic!