Is it a boy? Is it a girl? Anyone on the West coast can answer that! On September 5th, 2020, a colored smoke bomb was ignited to reveal the gender of a couple’s baby. The device, however, malfunctioned and caught fire on the four-foot-tall wild grasses at El Dorado Ranch Park in California. According to The Washington Post, this fire has spread to over 22,604 acres of land and is only 7% contained as of September 25th.
Exploding a smoke bomb for a gender reveal is not uncommon. In fact, El Dorado Ranch Park is a popular destination for gender reveals and events due to the scenic mountains in the background and their famous wild grasses. Yet, the practice is dangerous and potentially destructive with tens of thousands of acres left burning. All of this spurred just from a gender reveal? Whatever happened to popping balloons, or cutting open a cake?
Gender reveals have been controversial since they first became popular in the early 2000’s. Yes, they are fun and exciting, but are they really worth all the fuss if they have the potential to cause harm to others in various ways?
Gender reveals do not deserve all the fanfare people give them for a multitude of reasons. People should keep their baby announcements plain and simple, with just a cake and a few streamers, especially since this isn’t the first time an unnecessary and big reveal sparked fires. A 2017 gender reveal involving targets and highly explosive Tannerite caused more than 45,000 acres of land in Arizona to burn according to a CNN report. This is an irresponsible, reckless, and thoughtless thing to do and just doesn’t make sense.
Gender reveals are supposed to be happy, joyous events to celebrate new life! Why is the sex a baby so important if there is the potential of endangering the lives of surrounding neighbors? Yes, there is not much of a chance that the gender reveal will go wrong, but what if?
A couple’s gender reveal that goes wrong may be responsible for evacuation, climate change and injuries all because of a colored smoke bomb? Supporting gender reveals when they are safe because they are a couple’s way of sharing an exciting time with family and friends is ok, but when they are risky and over the top, there is no reason to support them.
There are many other ways to have a fun party without the risks. Balloon popping, cake cutting, and pinatas are all great alternative ways to have a safe and exciting party to reveal a baby’s gender. Over the top gender reveals are not only unnecessary, but also thoughtless when they involve props that can be dangerous.