Nice articulation of the quandry....


On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 2:58 PM, E. Hunt Botting <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Joan,
>
> The first thing I would say is, how can you have a "gender reveal" party
> when, technically, the fetus cannot "have" a gender except in the extremely
> abstract sense that people project their conception of gender upon it? It
> is true that the fetus has a sex (male, female, intersex, or perhaps some
> other biological possibilities we haven't yet scientifically categorized).
> A baby born into the world has a gender (feminine, masculine, trans, etc.)
> because the baby inhabits a social context in which s/he is assigned a
> gender, which s/he then performs.
>
> Generally, I find that regular (non-academic) people tend to use the words
> "gender" and "sex" interchangeably, but use "gender" when they wish to
> sound politically correct.  The irony with the "gender reveal" party is
> that using the word "gender" is actually more offensive and discouraging to
> those of us who theorize the importance of ethical rhetoric regarding
> gender roles.
>
> Technically, this event should be called a "sex reveal" party but probably
> that would encourage the wrong ideas about what gifts to bring.
>
> All best, Eileen Hunt Botting
>
> Eileen Hunt Botting
> Associate Professor
> Dept. of Political Science
> 216 O'Shaughnessy Hall
> University of Notre Dame
> Notre Dame IN 46556
> 574-631-5051
>
> Get your copy of Hannah Mather Crocker's history of Boston here:
> http://www.americanancestors.org/Product.aspx?id=23322
>
> My new edition of Wollstonecraft's "Rights of Woman" is forthcoming:
> http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300176476
>
>
> On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 2:43 PM, Joan Callahan <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>> I've been pondering a what I take to be a relatively new cultural
>> practice.  It is the practice of having a "gender reveal" party, which a
>> pregnant woman has prior to a baby shower.  I probably don't need to tell
>> folks on this list what I find disturbing about this.
>>
>> Anyone have any reflections on this practice and/or to help me out of my
>> being fairly deeply disturbed by family members I really care about doing
>> this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Joan
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