A Marxist-Feminist analysis of gender reveal parties in the United States

Abstract

The modern celebration surrounding the gender reveal party has become commonplace in our society, with family and friends bearing gifts and rejoicing at their newfound knowledge of the gender identity of a soon-to-be baby. Although social media websites like Pinterest and Instagram have served as an outlet for the widespread recognition of this phenomenon, the indoctrination of this trend as a mere product of technological advancement or social media necessitates a feminist intervention that pays astute attention to the productive necessities of our state and the socialization it in turn produces. Since mainstream liberal feminist theory naturalizes the inequalities that are perpetuated by our society while working to find equality within our current societal framework, the mechanism that dictates gender and its aligning qualities cannot be effectively challenged, or even recognized at all. Through the implementation of a revolutionary, materialist analysis of our state and the socialization and identities that it necessitates, the gender reveal party is displayed as a consequence of our society, and with this recognition, feminists organize with the long-term goal of building a fundamentally different world develop a critique of the gender-reveal tradition as a celebration that strengthens the gender binary while reinforcing fixed, neoliberal economic incentives.