Bachelorette Party - Wikipedia

Before its usage as a term for a pre-wedding party, hen party was used in the United States as a general term for an all-female gathering, usually held at a hostess's residence. In 1897, The Deseret News noted that a hen party was a "time honored idea that tea and chitchats, gossip smart hats, constitute the necessary adjuncts to these particular gatherings".[6] In 1940 Eleanor Roosevelt was described as hosting a Christmas-time hen party for cabinet wives and "ladies of the press".[7][8][9]

The bachelorette party is consciously modeled after the centuries-old bachelor's party,[1][10] which is itself historically a black tie dinner given by the bridegroom,[11] or sometimes his father,[5] shortly before his wedding.

Modern adaptations

The practice of giving a party to honor the bride-to-be goes back for centuries. However, certain American bachelorette party customs involving licentiousness among some social groups may have begun during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. It was uncommon until at least the mid-1980s,[5] and the first book on planning bachelorette parties was published only in 1998.[10]

Those uncomfortable with these modern customs of debauchery often celebrate the night before their wedding with a combined stag and doe party, a custom that has become increasingly popular.[5]

The phrase "hen party" mirrors the male "stag party" in referencing social stereotypes of each gender at the party.[12]

Since the 1980s, many parties in honor of the bride-to-be that were labeled as bachelorette parties often involved displays of sexual freedom philosophy, such as trading intimate secrets, getting drunk, and watching male strippers.[5] Parties that honored the bride-to-be without them avoided that label.[10] Now, however, the term is used for a wide variety of parties.[13][14]

Bachelorette parties became especially popular around the turn of the 21st century and frequently appeared in the news.[15]

In 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rise in "virtual" hen parties with the bride-to-be's celebrating her 'last night of freedom' with her bridesmaids around the world via videotelephony apps such as Zoom and Houseparty.[16]