This article is in response to another that was written a few days ago. 'PLEASE, Stop Throwing Gender Reveal Parties For Your Kid' was about how genders should not be determined before the child can determine it themselves.

I am fully aware of other opinions that exist and have no problem listening to them, and now I am here to state my own. Each response I have will be clear, concise, and go in order of how the original author told it.

Let's get one thing straight. The definition of the word 'gender' is as follows: 'The state of being male or female'. There is also: 'The behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits associated with one sex'.

Now, I'm not saying that people can't be born one gender and later on want to be another. Your life is your life, and you can do what you want with it. I personally have friends who are transgender, lesbian, gay, etc. I love them for who they are, and I fully support the LBGT+ community even though I'm not directly involved in it.

A baby just born isn't even capable of thinking yet, let alone choosing what they are.

Yes, pink and blue are the colors associated with girls and boys. However, in times of royalty, most of the colors we know today were associated with rich/royal men. Then, around the late 1910's, pink was actually introduced as a color associated with the boy. This was because pink was said to be a strong color and blue was prettier and better fitting for girls. It wasn't until the 1940's that it was switched over to pink for girls.

If I'm blessed enough to be able to have kids one day, I will most certainly have a gender reveal party for them. However, this doesn't mean my baby girl's room needs to be decked out in hot pink everywhere, or that my baby boy is stuck playing only with a toy car and a baseball bat.

Whether or not my daughter is playing in the mud or getting her nails done, dressing dolls or unloading toy dump trucks is none of my business. If my son is painting or playing drums it doesn't matter to me. Yes, I will buy my daughter dolls and art sets and my son cars and action figures. However, what those children choose to play with is their choice.

They can share their toys, they can switch their toys, or they can keep their toys. As long as they're polite and thankful for them, it doesn't matter.

Yes, boys are pushed toward sports at a young age.

However, I know a fair share of girls that have been as well. This is not done to enforce gender stereotypes, it is done to get your child out there to try new things. If they like it, that's wonderful. If not, they try something else. A lot of times, once the child is old enough to pick their own thing to try, they get into it and learn to like or hate it by themselves.

Sometimes, the things that men do are just in their nature. I'm not saying the bad things they can do are being defended. For example, working out at the gym. Almost every guy cares about themselves and their appearance. They enjoy lifting weights, running, or anything they can do to get themselves more physically attractive.

You can't ban someone from working out, and it's something that isn't really taught. It goes the same way for girls caring about cutting, coloring, and styling their hair. Teaching them otherwise is like telling someone to change everything they know. (To a lesser extreme of course.)

Having a man take care of his sister or mother isn't a bad thing.

It shows that the man can be strong, sweet, and hold himself and others down. It teaches them to care for women the way they should be taken care of. This goes for women too. Women are entitled to take care of their siblings and fathers and mothers as well. Yes, a lot of the time the man is the head of the house holding it down, but in the ultimate end, women are usually the ones that make decisions. I've seen so many homes where the daughter will cook and clean for the family, or at least help out in doing so.

The care a man gives has nothing to do with his emotions.

If anything, it brings them out more. almost every guy I have met has shown their emotions to me and after maybe the first time of doing so was not afraid to do it again. Everyone laughs, everyone cries, everyone can smile. A gender or what is in between your legs doesn't define how you express your emotions. They happen naturally, so everyone does it.

Girls in today's society are taught anything BUT to shrink. If anything, the way girls are taught to express themselves and be powerful has only improved as time goes on! Girls have been encouraged to stand proud, speak out, and feel good about themselves. The only major thing I think we could use some improvement on is rape culture, and how women are taught to change instead of men being taught not to do what they do.

However, that's for a different time, a different place, and a completely different article.

Telling a girl to sit with her legs crossed isn't shrinking them. I sure don't want to be wearing a shorter skirt or dress and open my legs for the world to see. That isn't a girl being shrunken down to fit society, it's just a given that you shouldn't want to be at a formal public event and be showing yourself without even realizing.

Besides that, I don't think I've ever seen a guy sit with their legs wide open unless it was a family member comfortably around other family members or a guy surrounded by his guy friends only. If anything, a guy sitting like that around you at the house is comfortable enough to relax around you, and that isn't a bad thing.

Every social event I've been to, the guys do the classic 'one leg up on the other' thing. That has nothing to do with their future or how threatened they are by women.

No one has to find out the sex of their baby, however, a lot of people like to.

It gets them more excited for the gift they are soon receiving, and the party is a way to lift spirits and just have a good time. Similar to a baby shower, it is a step in the process that make carrying a human in your stomach just a bit easier. Having a baby is an exciting new adventure, why not embrace every aspect of it?

So all in all, no, I don't want to raise my kids the same way as everyone else. I want to do it my way. I don't want to be told how to handle my kids, I want to learn on my own. That's what comes with being a parent. I will teach my kids what is right and what is wrong, but I don't need to teach them how to please everyone.

I will continue to be obsessed with cute gender reveal videos, and one day throw my own and attend the ones of those around me. I will open my child's eyes to all that this world has in store for them along with helping them grow, but they will also guide themselves.

In all, babies that can't even say a word cannot be relied on to determine who they are as a person. That's for later in life.

Everyone has their own beliefs. I will respect others, and stray away with my own thoughts as well. I will voice my opinion (without being rude) and if I want a sparkly cake that has either blue or pink coloring in it to determine what gender my baby is, then I will have one.