For years, many families expecting a child have held parties known as “gender reveal parties.” At this party, the parents can do a variety of things to reveal what sex the baby will be born as: pop a balloon, use a confetti popper, cut into a cake, etc. No matter what they choose to do, one thing is the same: if it’s a boy, the revealed color of the balloon, confetti or cake is blue, and if it’s a girl, the revealed color is pink. This isn’t necessarily an issue in and of itself, but there are issues in how families choose to execute the reveal.
In 2018, a fight broke out at an Applebee’s because of a rather defiant family. A group of 20 people intended to reveal the sex of their baby using confetti poppers inside the restaurant. The manager of that location asked them to do it outside so as not to disturb other guests, which they did reluctantly. After the reveal, blue confetti littered the sidewalk, parking lot and neighboring cars. When asked to clean up after their mess, a few members of the party started yelling at the manager, and some started throwing menus at the hostess. The police had to be called on them to break everything up.
In a more extreme case, one family even started a forest fire because of their gender reveal party. A couple in California sparked a wildfire that burned thousands of acres when trying to reveal their baby’s gender in 2020. The couple chose El Ranch Dorado Park as their location, which is a popular rural hiking area. In summer, the area’s grasses dry out, making it much more likely to catch fire.
Rather foolishly, they attempted to squash the fire with some water bottles, but it didn’t work. They didn’t even figure out what color was revealed. Nearly a year later, they were charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, as a firefighter died in the mess of the fire. The couple had other felony and misdemeanor counts related to the fire as well.
However, not only do gender reveal parties do physical damage, but they also often cause damage to relationships. For years upon years, families have had biases regarding the gender of their children, be it to have a mini version of themselves or have a child who is “easier” to deal with.
Typically, the wife prefers a daughter, and the husband prefers a son. However, some parents take their preferences way overboard. Several videos online depict overjoyed husbands cheering with their buddies and prioritizing their own happiness for having a boy and their friends over their wife.
Regardless of gender, it’s an amazing moment to bring new life into the world. We should instead direct our focus to the simple joy of having a baby rather than what the baby will turn out to be.
