How to Have a Gender Reveal Party and Not Get Arrested

Gender reveal parties have become explosive (excuse the pun) ever since they began in 2008. The credited creator, Jenna Karvunidis, thought it would be cute to surprise friends and family when she cut into a cake. The pink icing inside indicated she was expecting a daughter. However, the rise in popularity of these parties and using social media to display them have also caused injuries and deaths. Here are some tips on having a safe gender reveal party.

Don't Use Explosive or Incendiary Devices

This advice may seem obvious, but people have a flair for the dramatic. They want fireworks, pyrotechnics, and a spectacle! Unfortunately, however, it may lead to unintended and fatal results. In the past couple of years, headlines have reported tragic accidents of what should be a blessed event:

• An expectant couple was charged with involuntary manslaughter when their smoke generating device sparked the El Dorado fire in San Bernadino, California. A firefighter lost his life in that fire, and the blaze destroyed 36 square miles.

• A Michigan man killed by cannon at a gender reveal party was a bystander when the cannon broke apart from the explosion. The cannon pieces became the shrapnel that killed him.

• A soon-to-be grandmother was killed by a homemade pipe bomb in Iowa when the gunpowder in the device caused shrapnel to kill her instantly.

Think About Potential Liability From the Gender Reveal

Seriously consider if your method of gender reveal has any potential risk to a person or property. For example, in Massachusetts, an expectant father launched a smoke bomb into his genitals because he was holding it the wrong way. Luckily, it wasn't fatal, but it may prevent any gender reveals in his future. An Arizona man shot off a rifle to hit a target to reveal pink or blue. However, it ended up causing the Sawmill Fire, burning 47,000 acres in the Coronado National Forest. He also must pay $8 million in restitution and is on five years of probation. Avoid spectacles that could harm someone or something. Protect yourself from potential personal injury claims, arson or involuntary manslaughter charges. Even if no one dies, you could open yourself up to a personal injury lawsuit if someone got hurt or claims for property damage if your device accidentally ruined someone's property.

Rethink Your Gender Reveal Party

The irony of these parties is that the creator, Jenna Karvunidis, now regrets the creation of gender reveal parties. She is horrified by these tragic events, and she also thinks it places too much emphasis on gender anatomy or binary gender. She reports that even her daughter does not conform to societal gender norms. Fraught with dangerous outcomes and a growing sentiment that gender reveal parties reinforce a binary gender system, gender reveal parties may become a thing of the past. Perhaps making a celebration about your baby's name with cake (and not cannons) is the safest way to go.

Related Resources:

• Can You Be Charged for Arson in Gender Reveals Gone Wrong? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
• Social Host Liability: Legal Tips Before Serving Alcohol at a Party (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
• Premises Liability: Who Is Responsible? (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)