A gendered bun in the oven: the gender-reveal party as a new ritualization during pregnancy

By appropriating both medical and communication technologies, the gender-reveal party has recently emerged as a ritual performance centered on a dramatically staged disclosure of the sex of a gestating fetus. The gender-reveal party is an example of the new forms of ritualization that take place dur...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pasche Guignard, Florence 1981- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2015]
In: Studies in religion
Year: 2015, Volume: 44, Issue: 4, Pages: 479-500
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B North America / Ritual / Pregnancy / Gender / Party
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
KBQ North America
NCF Sexual ethics
NCH Medical ethics
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:By appropriating both medical and communication technologies, the gender-reveal party has recently emerged as a ritual performance centered on a dramatically staged disclosure of the sex of a gestating fetus. The gender-reveal party is an example of the new forms of ritualization that take place during pregnancy in 21st-century North America. Typically, the focal point of the party is when the future parents cut a cake whose inside color (blue or pink) reveals the sex of the fetus. This article examines the ritual dynamics and creativity at work in the preparation, the performance and the mediated dissemination of this festive occasion. Key elements of the ritual will be described, as well as its conditions of emergence in a context where neither medical nor religious institutions offer ritual options deemed appropriate enough for celebrating joyfully and emotionally during pregnancy.
ISSN:0008-4298
Contains:Enthalten in: Studies in religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0008429815599802