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...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
[2015]
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| In: |
Studies in religion
Year: 2015, Volume: 44, Issue: 4, Pages: 479-500 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
North America
/ Ritual
/ Pregnancy
/ Gender
/ Party
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy KBQ North America NCF Sexual ethics NCH Medical ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| 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. |
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| ISSN: | 0008-4298 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0008429815599802 |