Creator of gender reveal parties laments destruction they’ve caused
- Gender reveals have gone terribly wrong and become increasingly dangerous
- Some gender reveal parties have turned deadly
- Creator: "I wouldn't have had it" if she knew what would happen
(NewsNation) — If she could go back in time, the creator of gender reveal parties would never have had the bash that started it all.
“There’s an audience for this, the social media audience is hungry for these clicks, they’re hungry for these spectacles,” Jenna Karvunidis, who has been credited with creating the gender reveal party in 2008.
In an effort to reach new heights, gender reveals have gone terribly wrong and become increasingly dangerous over the years.
A gender reveal in Mexico took a deadly turn when the stunt plane used to unveil the baby’s sex crashed, killing the aircraft’s pilot.
In 2020, a California wildfire was sparked during one of these parties. The couple chose to use pyrotechnics to tell the world if they were having a boy or girl. Instead, the El Dorado fire destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings. It also took the life of a firefighter.
In Iowa, a soon-to-be grandmother was killed at a gender-reveal party after her family inadvertently created a “pipe bomb” to make the announcement.
“At first, I felt so responsible,” Karvunidis said.
She’s also thought about the expectations a gender reveal puts on the unborn child, calling it “limiting” to form opinions about what kind of person the child will be just based on their birth sex.
Overall, Karvunidis doesn’t think the trend she started is worth it.
“I wouldn’t have had it. And actually, I had two more children after my gender reveal party, and never had another gender reveal party,” she said.