It's a (sob) boy! How gender disappointment is on the rise as new parents want girls, not boys

“Are you f—king kidding me!” A woman shrieks up to the heavens while shrouded in a blue mist and lightly dusted in indigo confetti. While a dramatic scene with glittery accoutrements might suggest that she has just been assaulted by a flamboyant genie, she’s just the accidental victim of her own gender reveal: the newest member of TikTok’s “gender disappointment” club. Comedian Katherine Ryan, who is already mum to three girls and a boy, recently revealed that she would likely suffer ‘gender disappointment’ should she have another boy. While as recently as thirty years ago, these little saddenings would have been skewed largely on the female side, there’s been a reversal in preferences since the early 2000s, with many couples now hoping for a girl. There are even (of course) Instagram specialists you can find to counsel you through it.