People Are Calling For Gender Reveal Parties To Be Banned After California Fire
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Twitter is full of calls to ban gender reveal parties after one such celebration was found to be the cause of a devastating wildfire in California.
The El Dorado Fire in Southern California's San Bernardino County began Saturday 5th September and blazed through 9,671 acres of land, with CNN reporting that fire officials had called it "one of the most dangerous fires" ever seen in the area.
A 'pyrotechnic device' used at a gender reveal party in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa was later confirmed to be the cause of the blaze by The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
As news of the fire spread, one person who took to social media to call for gender reveal parties to 'stop' was the woman credited with inventing them.
Blogger Jenna Karvunidis - who held her own gender reveal party way back in 2008 before they became popular - took to Facebook to write a passionate post in which she called the increasingly extravagant parties 'stupid'.
"Oh my god NO," she wrote on 7th September. "The fire that evacuated parts of California is from a GENDER REVEAL PARTY. Stop it."
Jenna's own gender reveal party involved cutting into a cake to reveal pink icing, confirming that she and her husband were expecting a girl.
Today, gender reveal celebrations have grown far more elaborate, frequently involving fireworks, makeshift targets and sky lanterns.
The blogger's full post reads: "Stop having these stupid parties. For the love of God, stop burning things down to tell everyone about your kid's penis. No one cares but you.
"It was 116 degrees in Pasadena yesterday and this tool thought it would be smart to light a fire about his kid's d*ck. Toxic masculinity is men thinking they need to explode something because simply enjoying a baby party is for sissies.
"Oh, and of course I'm getting hate messages. Excuse me for having a cake for my family in 2008. Just because I'm the gEnDeR rEvEaL iNVeNtoR doesn't mean I think people should burn down their communities."
Worryingly, this isn't the first time this has happened.
In 2018, an Arizona border control agent's gender reveal party ignited a 47,000 acre wildfire which spread to the Coronado National Forest.
A quick scroll of Twitter reveals that Jenna isn't alone in her views on the need to put a 'stop' to gender reveal parties.
I just read that the fire that's in Yucaipa was cause by a gender reveal party... like how dumb are people??? This is why I despise gender reveals
- Anne (@BanAnnea_) September 7, 2020
motion to ban gender reveal parties until human beings can evolve into something other than complete and total idiots :raising_hand:♀️
- Courtney Jaye (@TropicaliJaye) September 7, 2020
One user wrote: "Motion to ban gender reveal parties until human beings can evolve into something other than complete and total idiots."
"I just read that the fire that's in Yucaipa was cause by a gender reveal party... like how dumb are people??? This is why I despise gender reveals," commented another.
While a third chipped in: "ANOTHER fire started by a gender reveal party. can we ban gender reveals now."
People, stick to the cake-cutting, please. Or even better, just send a cute card.
