Gender reveal parties have gotten pretty problematic in recent years.
Lots of people flat out don't think they're necessary, but even among those who like the idea there's a growing sentiment of "... just chill."
Part of the reason people are espousing going back to simple things like cutting a cake is that gender reveal parties have gotten so over-the-top that people are getting hurt. We've had broken bones, a pipe bomb that killed someone rather than burst with confetti or whatever, and an Australian gender reveal party caused a car to catch fire and burn.
Not to mention the thousands of acres burned by fires started because of these parties. It's not rare. It's happening right now. Again.
Currently as we type this, over ten thousand acres of land are burning in California. The cause?
A gender reveal party gone wrong. A pyrotechnic device was supposed to reveal colored smoke so everyone could cheer and clap for pink or blue.
The pyrotechnics malfunctioned and instead of a little puff of pink or blue smoke, we got an orange apocalypse.
No, not 45. We mean this fire.
In response to this fire, and so many more (seriously, millions of acres around the world have been razed by gender reveal parties. It's bonkers.) Professor Sarah Parcak decided to share a few suggestions for genital, er... gender reveal ideas.
Parcak is an Egyptologist and archaeologist who has spent her career studying societies and cultures across both distance and time. In other words, she is passionate about people, places and all of the weird and wonderful things that make them what they are.
She's also passionate about how ridiculous this latest gender-reveal disaster is.
Yeah, she's not a fan.
She is, however, a scientist and intellectual so Sarah came to the table with solutions. She's not just here with data.
Sarah's solution?
Knowledge... and cake.
For Parcak, gender reveals have moved into the realm of the ridiculous and the destruction they cause is just inexcusable.
She's not the only one who feels that way. She's also not the only one with ideas on alternative gender reveal celebrations.
Just take a look at some of the comments on her posts.
It's... a journey.
We don't know if the family in this latest disaster will see charges or fines. It stands to reason that they may, as other families have seen legal action from gender reveals gone wrong.
What we really want, though, is for the trend of blowing stuff up to tell people whether or not your baby has a penis to burn out with this fire. Just stop.
Gender is a thing that develops and changes over time and means different things in different societies. If you insist on having a genital reveal party, call it that and do it without explosives, pyrotechnics, ballistics and balloons. The environment thanks you.
We promise, your baby will still be loved and still have genitalia if you just eat some cupcakes or something.
