Prenatal sex discernment is the prenatal testing for discerning the sex of a fetus before birth.
Methods
Prenatal sex discernment can be performed by preimplantation genetic diagnosis before conception, but this method may not always be classified as prenatal sex discernment because it's performed even before implantation.
Cell-free fetal DNA testing, wherein a venipuncture
is performed on the mother to analyze the small amount of fetal DNA
that can be found within it. It provides the earliest post-implantation
test. A meta-analysis published in 2011 found that such tests are
reliable more than 98% of the time, as long as they are taken after the
seventh week of pregnancy.[1][2]
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis
are two rather invasive testing procedures. These may, in principle, be
performed as early as the 8th and the 9th week of pregnancy. The
difficulty of these tests and the risk of injury to the foetus,
potentially resulting in miscarriage
or congenital abnormalities (especially when done early during the
pregnancy), make them quite rare during the first trimester. In the
United States, CVS and amniocentesis are most commonly performed after the 11th and the 15th week of pregnancy.[citation needed]
Obstetric ultrasonography, either transvaginally or transabdominally, can check for the sagittal sign as a marker of foetal sex. It can be performed between 65 and 69 days from fertilization (week 12 of gestational age), where it gives a result in 90% of cases – a result that is correct in approximately 3⁄4 of cases, according to a study from 2001.[3]
Accuracy for males is approximately 50% and for females almost 100%.
When performed later, after 70 days from fertilization (at week 13 of
gestational age), it gives an accurate result in almost 100% of cases.[3]
Applications
Potential applications of prenatal sex discernment include:
Preparation, for any sex-dependent aspects of parenting.
Sex selection,
which after preimplantation genetic diagnosis may be performed by
selecting only embryos of the preferred sex, or, after post-implantation
methods by performing sex-selective abortion depending on the test result and personal preference. A 2006 survey [1] found that 42 per cent of IVF
clinics in the US that offer PGD have provided it for sex selection for
non-medical reasons. Nearly half of these clinics perform it only for
"family balancing", which is where a couple with two or more children of
one sex desire a child of the other, but half do not restrict sex
selection to family balancing. In India, this practice has been used to
select only male embryos although this practice is illegal.[4]
Opinions on whether sex selection for non-medical reasons is ethically
acceptable differ widely, as exemplified by the fact that the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Task Force could not formulate a uniform recommendation.
A gender reveal party is a party held during pregnancy to reveal the baby's sex to the expectant parents' family and friends, and sometimes to the parents themselves. Prenatal sex discernment technology furnishes the necessary information.[1][2] The practice originated in the United States during the late 2000s.[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. The gender reveal party often involves gender stereotypes such as pink and blue denoting girls and boys, respectively.[1][2]
The practice is controversial and has been criticized for the use
of elaborate and dangerous special effects, which have directly
contributed to multiple deaths, injuries and large-scale forest fires,
namely the 2017 Sawmill Fire and the 2020 El Dorado Fire.[3][4] The practice has also been criticized for reinforcing gender stereotypes and the gender binary.[1][2][5]
History and development
The gender reveal party developed in the late 2000s. An early example
was recorded in the 2008 posts of then-pregnant Jenna Karvunidis on her
ChicagoNowblogHigh Gloss and Sauce
announcing the sex of her fetus via cake; she had previously had
several miscarriages and wished to celebrate that her pregnancy had
developed to the point that the sex of the fetus could be determined.[6][7]YouTube
videos can be found as early as 2008 and 2009, becoming significant
around 2011, after which the trend continued to grow through the 2010s.[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.[9]
Comparison to baby showers
Baby showers,
a traditional prenatal celebration, have some key differences from
gender reveal parties. Primarily, the focus on gender reveal parties is
fetal sex, while baby showers focus on the giving of supplies and items
for the future infant to expectant parents. Traditionally, baby showers
are for women only,
while gender reveal parties have no inherently-associated gender
restriction and attendee limitations are determined by the pregnant
individual or couple.[citation needed] Some couples combine the two.[1][2]
The trend has also reached South Korea. In 2022, Na Ju-ye of the Hankook Ilbo
reported that the trend was growing amongst young parents. Na noted
that the parties differed in several ways from those in the West. Some
parties, instead of focusing on the parents, are focused on the
grandparents. 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.
Finally, while there is technically a law that forbids doctors from
informing parents of a baby's gender before 32 weeks of pregnancy,
parents still manage to receive guesses from doctors.[10]
Planning the event
The focus of gender reveal parties being the fetal sex, such information is a prerequisite. This can be determined at or after the gestational age required by the method being used. For ultrasound,
the most common method, the earliest this can be reliably done is
approximately 65 days, but it is typically done at around 20 weeks.[a] Both the determination of fetal sex and the party are typically held during the second trimester.[1][11]
Post-examination knowledge of the fetal sex by the parents
varies. 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. This person is responsible for making
party arrangements to ensure the reveal happens without the prior
knowledge of the parents. In other cases, it is already known to one or
both parents, and the reveal is specifically for attendees.[1]
To help maintain the mystery, party decorations are typically heavily gendered, but ambiguous when taken as a whole.[1]
During the event
American football-themed gender reveal party featuring "Team Pink" vs. "Team Blue".
While the focus remains on the fetal sex, the reveal is typically the climax of the party. Prior to the reveal, party games are common, in which attendees or expecting parents guess or assert the fetal sex.[1] This can also take the form of competition between a "Team Pink" and "Team Blue" which parents or participants may join.[1][2]
Sometimes the event includes features of a baby shower. If this is the case, gifts may be given or opened at a specific time.[1][2]
The reveal
A gender reveal cake sliced open, with a pink middle layer suggesting a baby girl
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. The announcement of a predetermined, sex-dependent baby name may also take place.[1]
Criticism
The sex and gender distinction underlies many criticisms of gender reveal parties.[2] The term "gender reveal" is considered a misnomer by those who believe in a distinction. Gender is a social construct in this view, not definitively determined by biological characteristics, with an individual gender identity impossible to determine medically. Thus, when a reveal of a fetus's genitals is made, it is the sex and not the gender that is being revealed, according to this view.[2][8][12][13] Although some have argued renaming the concept to a "sex reveal party",[14][15][16] the title has failed to catch on. This is likely due to the secondary meaning of sex, and thus its associations with intercourse.
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.[17][18] Gender reveal parties have been argued to reinforce gender essentialism, precluding and minimizing transgender identity.[8][17]
Some parents have rejected gender reveal events, in part because of
conversations regarding gender identity and transgender issues becoming
more common.[5]
Overall, the practice reinforces stereotypical gender roles,
often utilizing polarizing gender dichotomies in party materials such
as "Guns or Glitter", "Pistols or Pearls", or "Wheels or Heels".[1][2]
Critics say that there is no reason to assume a neat fit into the
essentialist dichotomy even in the case of a cisgender, non-intersex
child.[5][13][17]
In 2019, Jenna Karvunidis, considered one of the pioneers of gender
reveal parties, called for re-evaluation of the practice due to how it
might affect transgender and non-binary individuals, writing about her own daughter's gender nonconformity.[6][7]
The practice has also been criticised for sometimes involving dangerous stunts[19] and animal abuse.[20] After the El Dorado Fire in 2020, Karvunidis decried the parties and pleaded for people to stop having them.[9]
Dougie was with Sydney
Hettiaratchi our batch-mate at Trinity College, Kandy, Ceylon. One day Sydney had been ‘gated’
for some misdemeanor inside the Trinity premises. The master who ‘gated’
him, Mr.Jacob, Mary Jacob our junior batch student’s father, while
shopping in the Kandy town, thought that he saw Sydney walking ahead of
him. He walked fast behind the presumed Sydney and gave him a slap on the
back to see that he had mistaken someone else for Sydney. It was time for
the master to look foolish in front of a large crowd. He realised his mistake, apologized
profusely to the injured party and disappeared from the scene quickly.
Dougie was working at
Medamahanuwara as Medical Officer of Health, in the late 1960s. He said
that while trekking on a foot path, to go to a remote village, he was
surprised by wild elephants and had to beat a hasty and breathless
retreat. Luckily the elephants did not chase him very far.
Unlicensed liquor sales
were common in the remote villages. The two brands sold were the cheaper
Gal-Oya arrack, also called ‘Gal’, produced from sugar cane molasses and
the more expensive Coconut arrack, also called ‘Pol’ produced from coconut
toddy. If you wanted to acquire these from the shops in these remote
villages, there was a secret pass word used, as police raids were a
perpetual danger. It was ‘Ballata Gahana Badu’ (The item you use to throw
at dogs) for ‘Gal’ which meant ‘stone’. For Coconut arrack the term used
was ‘Deiyanta gahana badu’ (The item you smash in front of Gods) for ‘Pol’
which meant coconut
