“A New Low For Stupid”: 78 Gender Reveal Moments That Already Have People Judging The Parents

The first-ever gender reveal happened in 2008, when writer and attorney Jenna Karvunidis announced her first child’s gender by cutting into a cake filled with pink icing. At the time, it was meant to be a celebration for her family, until she wrote about it in her blog. 

“I just like to throw parties," she told Northern Colorado news station KUNC in a 2019 interview. "I just thought it would be really fun for everybody in the whole family to find out."

Karvunidis has since been credited as the unofficial pioneer of the gender reveal. However, it was something she came to regret, especially with how outrageous, even dangerous, some of the parties had become. 

“I know it's been harmful to some individuals,” Karvunidis said. "Celebrate the baby. There's no way to have a cake to cut into it, to see if they're going to like chess. Let's just have a cake."

In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Karvunidis spoke more extensively about how her views on gender reveals and on gender itself changed. 

According to her, it started one Christmas morning, when her three-year-old daughter began crying after receiving a set of Legos as a gift. And because it wasn’t pink, the child thought it wasn’t for her.

“There’s such an obsession with gender that it becomes limiting in many ways and exploitative in others. You don’t want what’s between your legs to guide your path in life,” Karvunidis said, noting that she intends to have her children grow up in a world where “gender doesn’t matter.”

In the last 18 years, gender reveals have become more destructive. One of the worst ones happened in 2020 in El Dorado, California, when a couple’s decision to use a pyrotechnic device caused a massive wildfire. 

Their irresponsibility burned down more than 9,000 hectares of land, along with five homes and 15 other buildings. It also claimed the life of a firefighter. The couple was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Another mishap occurred in 2023 in Mexico when a couple decided to have a small plane fly through the air while blowing pink smoke for their big reveal. 

Unfortunately, the plane crashed moments after take-off, claiming the life of the pilot.