- A
gender reveal party gone awry recently sparked a fire in California that has burned over 12,000 acres, according to ABC7. - In addition to the destruction that has followed some gender reveal parties, people have criticized them for being transphobic given that the announcement emphasizes a child's gender assigned at birth.
- In the wake of the most recent disaster, people have been making
memes comparing gender reveal parties to well-known historical or fictional tragedies. - Many are now calling for gender reveal parties to be put to rest.
Earlier this week, a gender reveal party gone explosively awry sparked a California fire that, per ABC7, has currently burned at least 12,610 acres as of Thursday morning.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement last Sunday that on Saturday morning, a "smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party" had started a fire in the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa.
This isn't the first time that a gender reveal party has sparked catastrophe — in 2018, an explosion from a gender reveal party in Arizona started a 47,000-acre wildfire. In 2019, an Iowa grandmother was killed after a contraption used at the event that was intended to disperse colored powder exploded. The woman credited with popularizing the gender reveal party trend has openly condemned the practice in light of the destruction it's caused and her changed views on gender norms.
In light of the recent destruction, people on Twitter have been creating memes that mock gender reveal parties in various ways, contextualizing them within known historical events like the Hindenburg disaster or crafting absurd scenarios.
—the elusive robert danbe (@_danbe) September 8, 2020
—Solomon Georgio (@solomongeorgio) September 8, 2020
—Perfect Birb Lady DX & Knuckles (@fbfishslap) September 7, 2020
Many other memes make references to fictional catastrophes, drawn from shows like "Game of Thrones" or video games like "Final Fantasy 14."
—Nikhil (@Nikhil09121) September 8, 2020
—Fullmetal Photos (@FuIImetaIPhotos) September 9, 2020
— - ☂︎ (@tinyspiderlegs) September 7, 2020
—Eric Allen Hatch (@ericallenhatch) September 7, 2020
—Molly the Necrowifer (@althussy) September 8, 2020
While many of the memes are irreverent, their popularity is a testament to the fact that many are fed up with gender reveal parties. As Insider's Canela López writes, the most recent gender reveal party that sparked the El Dorado Fire in California "needs to be the tradition's death knell."
—Pjörk (@NicoleConlan) September 7, 2020
Read more:
- The gender reveal party that started a 10,000-acre fire needs to be the tradition's death knell
- The woman who invented gender-reveal parties is calling for them to stop after one started a fire and burned down 10,000 acres of land in California
- A grandmother died during a gender reveal party. It's time to end these rituals permanently.
- Everything you need to know about gender reveal parties, how they started, and how they got out of hand