Those Gender Reveal Cakes

Baby showers were never that political. Controversy was relegated to what the little ones name was going to be or who will be the godparents. Now there's another dispute  the reveal cake, that important piece of dessert that will tell the future parents what they will have.

Kim Severson , a regular contributor  wrote about these sweet oracles in yesterday's New York Times Food section. The fad was born in 2009 when reality show couples cut into their baby shower cake to either show pink or blue cake.It caught on with  everyday couples and a new ritual was born - the gender reveal party. Rebecca Gruber who was vice president for branded content for Popsugar saw a bee themed baby party on Youtube. It was a homemade cake , with  a blue inside. She wrote up a post and the trend took off like a rocket. Soon it wasn't just cake that was proclaiming the upcoming baby's sex. There were tinted lasagnas, with  the ricotta being dyed blue or pink. There was nail art and even pet alligators (trust me, it was a real thing). An explosion last year at a gender reveal did not end well. The couple did find out they were having a boy, along with finding out that they were responsible for a massive forest fire.

The fad is waning as our definitions of gender are changing. There are nonbinary and transgender people who prefer using "they" and "theirs" as opposed to he she, his and her. Molly Woodstock, creator of the podcast Gender Reveal and a transgender believes those cakes are losing in popularity. They also correct those who accidentally put their gender reveal videos on the site. Woodstock then gently reminds them that the genitals of their baby don't determine the baby's gender. Another group hating the reveal cakes are the bakers themselves. It was thrilling in the beginning but it's become a chore. Ellen Gray of the Able Baker in Maplewood ,NJ who is both a writer and baker says that it starts taking on a life of its' own. The worst part comes with the lab results which almost requires a medical degree to read them.Then there's the question of using artificial dyes to announce the sex. Many bakers  such as Julia Richardson who runs  Portland oregon's Baker and Spice refuse to work with them, preferring  raspberry buttercream for a girl and chocolate ganache for a boy. Still some moms and dads to be like the idea of a gender reveal cake. One couple ordered one just for themselves. David Feder a Chicago dietitian and his wife, comedian Herskovic did just that , going to Whole Food with their lab result. They enjoyed the cake and the fact they were having a son.

Will gender reveal cakes be a thing of the past in this fad today passe tomorrow society. Hopefully. Maybe instead of a gender reveal , parents will have a college  fund bowl. A kid's future is more important than his or her sex.