A fire was caused by a smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party in California. Dubbed as El Dorado Fire, it that started on Saturday morning (September 5, 2020) continued to grow and led to a mass evacuation. Firefighters are working round the clock while fighting the intense heatwave. As of now, no reports of injury have come across, but the wildfire has burned more than 7,000 acres. This is not the first time, when gender reveal parties have risked lives. In the past too, there have been unfortunate incidents because of parents’ obsession to announce the sex of unborn child into an explosive spectacle. The instances involve accidents and injuries. In this article, we will look at some of the events that show how gender-reveals have caused injury, death and even large-scale damage.

Gender reveal parties are those where expectant parents announce the genders of their soon-to-be-born infants. It majorly features the elaborate ways of saying whether the baby is a boy or a girl. While the practice is controversial and has been heavily criticised by many for reinforcing gender stereotypes, the elaborate ways of revealing whether it’s a boy or a girl has often risked lives in the past, especially because of the use of explosive devices. Big Basin Redwoods State Park Is ‘Extensively Damaged’ by Raging Fires, Videos and Pics Show Burned Trees, Flames, Smoke and Destruction Caused by the Wildfires. 

Sawmill Fire in Arizona in 2017

A video was released by the US Forest Service in 2018, which showed how one gunshot started the April Sawmill Fire in Arizona in April, 2017. The flames scorched about 45,000 acres in southern Arizona. The gunshot was heard at a gender-reveal party, showing a target that was set up to help reveal whether a newborn would be a boy or a girl. The fire spread to the nearby Coronado National Forest, where they became a Sawmill fire, burnt thousands of acres and it took about a week for the firefighters to fight the back the fires.

Gender Reveal Burnouts, 2018

Gender reveal burnouts in which cars emit billowing clouds of pink or blue smoke, are a fad that became popular in Australia, around 2018. One incident was captured from a drone camera in April, 2018 that showed how gender reveal burnout went wrong. The Queensland Police released a video that showed how a powerful vehicle spins its rubber, and the blue smoke started to billow. The driver continued the burnout down the road and did not let off the gas for about 20 seconds, as noted by reports that turned the smoke into flames.

Iowa Woman Killed

In October, 2019, an Iowa woman was killed by debris from the explosion of a homemade device, which meant to reveal her relative's gender. The woman died instantly after she was struck in the head by a piece of metal from a device that was intended to reveal the sex of the baby.

These are a few incidents that show how gender performance in an elaborate and public manner has become dangerous, putting lives and entire ecosystems at risk. A new life is a joyful thing, worthy of celebration, but to celebrate that, we do not necessarily have to involve any explosives that have the potential of causing serious damages.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2020 04:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).