Rigid Gender Roles

[N The Prayer Closet]

http://morningafter.gawker.com/even-fet ... 1660661062

 

The author of this article is hilarious. I especially love how she notes that Anna has nothing else to

be excited for in life other than pregnancy (which of course isn't true but it is the way the women

in this family are portrayed) and the comments are great. One commenter lamented gender reveal

parties by saying "I saw a guy on the 2/3 train last week having a "gender reveal party" all by himself.

Michelle would lose her marbles if she had to witness that.

[singsingsing]

I've always thought gender reveal parties were pointless and honestly kind of narcissistic. I'm sorry but nobody cares about the sex of your baby nearly as much as you and your spouse. Other people might be somewhat interested, but a simple, "Hey, we found out we're having a girl!" is sufficient.

[DGayle]

I've always thought gender reveal parties were pointless and honestly kind of narcissistic. I'm sorry but nobody cares about the sex of your baby nearly as much as you and your spouse. Other people might be somewhat interested, but a simple, "Hey, we found out we're having a girl!" is sufficient.

I've been rabidly interested in the sexes of babies. Gender is something the kid will tell on their own later. I always thought reveal parties are pointless though since there are already other parties. Most women I know have at least 2 parties per baby, without sex reveals. Baby shower and another "X is having a baby," which is the same damn thing. Don't need another.

[N The Prayer Closet]

I'm just confused about why David Waller would want to do a gender reveal party. I know there's speculation that he's gay BUT he is a married father of two now and it isn't like leaving his family is remotely an option. Gender reveal parties seem like a lot of work for the person throwing them, especially when they also have baby showers, christening a, huge first birthday parties, etc. I may be old fashioned too, but I don't think a second child needs that much attention when all you have to purchase is some new clothes.

[browncoatslytherin]

I'm just confused about why David Waller would want to do a gender reveal party. I know there's speculation that he's gay BUT he is a married father of two now and it isn't like leaving his family is remotely an option. Gender reveal parties seem like a lot of work for the person throwing them, especially when they also have baby showers, christening a, huge first birthday parties, etc. I may be old fashioned too, but I don't think a second child needs that much attention when all you have to purchase is some new clothes.

do the wallers christen their children? that's not something that their brand of fundie typically does. a baby dedication, maybe, but that's a lot different than a christening, from my understanding.

[MatthewDuggar]

It's made up right? Baby gender-reveal parties are actually a "thing"? I assumed that TLC created this for a Smugs/Anna episode and used the Wallers since Anna seems to have stop producing flowers.

[BrownieMomma]

It's made up right? Baby gender-reveal parties are actually a "thing"? I assumed that TLC created this for a Smugs/Anna episode and used the Wallers since Anna seems to have stop producing flowers.

Oh heck no TLC didn't make that up. Gender reveal parties are very popular amongst my 20-somethings acquaintances.

Well.. not always a party. The parents at my church have taken to posting cute reveal pix on FB and IG but no actual party. They are all in their 20's.

[JillyO]

Yeah, I didn't know "gender" reveal parties were a thing either. Who in the world would even care if we had a boy or a girl but my boyfriend and i?

That being said, I'm really hoping the article is right in that it's only a thing in communities where your sex (it's not the baby's gender, for heaven's sake!) predetermines what your life will look like.

[ADoyle90815]

Oh heck no TLC didn't make that up. Gender reveal parties are very popular amongst my 20-somethings acquaintances.

Well.. not always a party. The parents at my church have taken to posting cute reveal pix on FB and IG but no actual party. They are all in their 20's.

I know someone who had a gender reveal party, but they're not at all the type of people to enforce strict gender roles at all. They just wanted an excuse for a party, and if they didn't have the party, they probably would have announced the gender anyway. They found out they're having a girl, and they did the box of balloons thing. The person who had the party was my SIL's sister, and in that family, christening gowns are unisex, so even if they found out they were having a boy, if there were a christening, he would have worn the gown every other child did.

My brother and SIL decided not to find out the gender before my niece was born, which everyone actually liked because it was more fun to be surprised in the end.

[bella8050]

I know people who've done gender reveals (and they called gender reveals, probably just because sex reveal sounds a bit odd imo)...not a huge party like a shower, but for their immediate families, and then post the results on social media for their friends. I've also been to showers where they had not found out and that was THE talk of the shower. Everyone speculating due to how the woman was carrying, etc. I think some people are naturally curious about, just as people are curious about what the name will be...not that it's some big affect on their life personally, they just want to know.

[alba]

I know people who've done gender reveals (and they called gender reveals, probably just because sex reveal sounds a bit odd imo)...not a huge party like a shower, but for their immediate families, and then post the results on social media for their friends. I've also been to showers where they had not found out and that was THE talk of the shower. Everyone speculating due to how the woman was carrying, etc. I think some people are naturally curious about, just as people are curious about what the name will be...not that it's some big affect on their life personally, they just want to know.

I think a big part of the reason people are curious is that they're excited, and sex is one of the few things you can find out about a baby before birth. It's like rattling your Christmas presents to try to guess what's inside :P

[MatthewDuggar]

Fun reason to have a party then (have marketers picked up on this yet? Someone could get rich here...)

I guess I grew up with couples that wanted to wait and find out or for one reason or another kept it a secret...

[CorruptionInc.]

It's handy to know what the gender will be when buying presents for the bub, but a party for a gender reveal? No need.

I DO like the idea of a cake at a baby shower that's coloured blue or pink on the inside to reveal a gender but still a gender reveal party?

[MoonFace]

And it's silly to expect people from a distance to make a trip just for the reveal. Save the trip for a visit, or whatever - but to make such a big deal of it (and being anxious waiting for a phone call about it? !!!) is dumb.

[grandmadugger]

Fun reason to have a party then (have marketers picked up on this yet? Someone could get rich here...)

I guess I grew up with couples that wanted to wait and find out or for one reason or another kept it a secret...

No marketers have really picked up on it. Usually people use what is already out there. I hadn't seen the balloon thing before. It's usually a cake and when it is cut you find out blue for a boy or pink for a girl.

[Bethella]

I think it's gaining popularity because you (often) only have a baby shower for the first child. You can have a gender reveal party for every baby. More excuses to party!

[MatthewDuggar]

you (often) only have a baby shower for the first child.

I never heard of that either, but now that I think about it, that seems to be the case with those close to me. But I do have a cousin who got pregnant 12 years after her 2nd child and she acted like it was her first pregnancy, parties, showers and all. (fine family life otherwise, it was odd)

[JillyO]

How I wish that whole pink for girls and light blue for boys BS would finally die out...

[brokenminded]

I've never known anyone have a party for a baby not yet born. If it gets christened family might go for a meal. You may get gifts after baby is born. Clothes or toys nothing more. Only the parents would buy the big items, maybe grandparents but not friends.

[BrownieMomma]

I've never known anyone have a party for a baby not yet born. If it gets christened family might go for a meal. You may get gifts after baby is born. Clothes or toys nothing more. Only the parents would buy the big items, maybe grandparents but not friends.

That's interesting. I've known of baby showers for expectant mothers my entire life. The only thing is not to have them too early in case she miscarries.

A regional thing? or maybe not even regional, a different part of the world?

[brokenminded]

I am in Scotland. So it could be curtural.

[BrownieMomma]

I am in Scotland. So it could be curtural.

I was just reading an article about French parenting. The cultural differences and expectations are fascinating, I always wonder what I can learn.

http://qz.com/295756/frances-secret-to- ... l-at-once/

[RosyDaisy]

My family doesn't do gender reveal parties. The sex of the baby is just passed down the grapevine. We do have baby showers though.

[roddma]

Beisdes gender reveal parties, pee parties are now popular. I first saw a FB post and wondered what it meant. It's a woman or group of women taking pregnancy tests. Like what the heck?

As far as second baby showers go, they are more common now. My second cousin had one recently since it had been 8 years since the first and my BIL wife had one for their now 10 yr old twins since it had been like 12 years between them and the last.

[MatthewDuggar]

Beisdes gender reveal parties, pee parties are now popular. I first saw a FB post and wondered what it meant. It's a woman or group of women taking pregnancy tests. Like what the heck?

That's just crazy. Someone please explain how these parties work? Do the activities switch depending on the test results? Like do you get drunk if it's negative? Do you bring gifts?