<P> A gender reveal party is a celebration where either the guests, the expecting parents, or both find out the gender of the baby . </P> <P> The gender reveal party can be seen as an analogue of the baby shower, which also employs the trope of pink (denoting a female) or blue (denoting a male) to designate gender . However, it is typically held earlier, near the moment, formerly private, when parents learn the baby's predicted sex . Gender reveal parties also typically are open to men and women, unlike the traditionally all - female baby shower . The rise of the gender reveal party seems "inextricably tied to social media ." YouTube searches report that there are "more than 500,000 videos of expectant couples slicing cakes, setting off smoke bombs and bashing piñatas to expose one of two colors: pink or blue". Other methods include the release of balloons from a box . </P> <P> Some argue that the term "gender reveal" is a misnomer, as all available tests measure the child's sex, which is to say, chromosomal or physical characteristics, rather than gender, which some believe to be an acquired social identity . </P>

When did gender reveal parties became a thing
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