Gender reveal party

[2] It is distinct from, but sometimes combined with, a baby shower, where the primary activity is giving expecting parents gifts for their future child.

[8][2] In 2019, Karvunidis observed an increase in extreme reveal events over the preceding five years, with parents "burning down forests and exploding cars, bringing alligators into the mix".

She expressed regret at having helped start the trend, learning how the LGBT and intersex communities feel, and finally revealing the daughter they announced back in 2008 to be a gender-nonconforming individual who wears suits while still identifying as female.

[6] After the 2020 El Dorado Fire was started by a malfunctioning pyrotechnical device at a gender reveal party, Karvunidis pleaded for people to stop staging such events.

Internet remix culture lends the practice great receptivity toward individual creativity, a factor in their growing popularity.

[1][2] Demographic research shows the most gender reveal parties are done by expecting parents that are middle-class, heterosexual White Americans who are married or partnered.

In addition, due to the low birth rate in South Korea, the parties are perceived somewhat positively and the historical practice of preferring male children has become significantly reduced.

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.

Prior to the reveal, party games are common, in which attendees or expecting parents guess or assert the fetal sex.

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.

[1][2] 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.

[14][15][16] 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.

A round cake with a white base color decorated with edible circles and ribbons of both pink and blue coloration; an attached note says "Open Me"
An uncut gender reveal cake decorated with pink and blue on a white base, using both pink and blue to represent ambiguity before the reveal
A gender reveal event using blue-colored smoke bombs to represent the expectation of a male child
Room showing a multicolored scoreboard divided between "Team Pink" and "Team Blue" for a gender-reveal party.
American football -themed gender reveal party featuring "Team Pink" vs. "Team Blue".
A white frosted cake decorated with black question marks and Mars and Venus symbols; the cake has been cut open and a piece sits on its side on a paper plate to the right. There are three layers to cake; the top and the bottom layers are off-white and the middle layer is pink.
A gender reveal cake sliced open, with a pink middle layer suggesting a baby girl
The 2020 El Dorado Fire was ignited by gender reveal pyrotechnics , burned 22,744 acres (9,204 ha) of forest and killed one firefighter