October 1, 2020
Editorial
Views
13
IMAGE COURTESY OF PIXABAY
Gender reveal parties are harmful Trend damages nonbinary children, environment By now, the bulk of the Western world has experienced gender reveal parties — the booming trend of pink and blue social media posts, confetti and even explosions. The trend is not a long standing tradition followed by past generations. It began with Jenna Karvundis in 2008, when, after multiple miscarriages, she made it far enough in her pregnancy to discover the sex of the fetus — a very personal milestone for her and her family. She invited loved ones over to share the news with a cake of the associated color for the sex of the baby inside. The trend snowballed as celebrities and mommy bloggers rushed to top each other’s pink and blue displays. But the stunts at these parties have become increasingly dangerous, with at least one confirmed kill after an Iowa woman was struck by a piece of debris after a gender reveal pipe bomb went off. It was a boy, by the way. Another incident resulted in a plane crash after the aircraft stalled while dumping 350 gallons of pink water on a field. Fortunately, there were no casualties. And while the infamous El Dorado Fire, sparked by a gender reveal prop in Oak Glen, is still fresh in our collective memory, let the
record show that this is the second gender reveal wildfire. So gender reveals have, in effect, caused more property damage than all the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 combined. It is also important to note that gender reveal parties are not actually celebrating gender reveals. “Sex is a label — male or female — that you’re assigned by a doctor at birth based on the genitals you’re born with and the chromosomes you have,” Planned Parenthood’s website states. “Gender is much more complex: It’s a social and legal status, and a set of expectations from society, about behaviors, characteristics, and thoughts.” Sex, not gender, is what is actually on one’s birth certificate and what is revealed when a fetus is mature enough. Gender reveal parties, then, are actually sex reveal parties. This difference is a key component to understanding how cultural fads based on gender, or sex, are harmful on many levels. The LGBTQ+ community’s discourse surrounding gender reveals is nothing to scoff about. Many of these gender reveals, such as wrestling an alligator to say “it’s a boy,” reinforce harmful gender roles. This can make it difficult for transgender, nonbinary or gender
nonconforming children to come out when they are older and discover they do not fit the pink and blue boxes they have been assigned without their input. Sex itself is also complex due to the countless variables that can lead to a person being born outside the male and female binary. This restrictive categorization does not allow for the recognition of intersex people. The doctor and parents of intersex children decide on the infant’s sex. Intersex babies are often prescribed hormones and undergo surgeries to reflect the parents’ preferred sex. This is considered a human rights violation since a baby cannot consent to genital reconstructive surgery. Imposing gender roles on infants and placing immense importance on something as fluid as gender with grandiose and explosive gestures causes more harm than anyone thought possible. It is harmful to trangender, nonbinary, intersex and many people whose genders fall outside the “M” and “F” boxes, and it is harmful to the environment — at least in the more explosive cases. It is time to put away the pink and blue smoke kits and it is time to think up more safe and inclusive ways to welcome children into the world.
Viewpoints’ editorials represent the majority opinion of and are written by the Viewpoints’ student editorial board.
STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Erik Galicia (951) 222-8488 viewpoints@rcc.edu MANAGING EDITOR Leo Cabral viewpoints.managing@gmail.com ADVERTISING MANAGER viewpoints.advertising@gmail.com JOURNALISM SPECIALIST Matt Schoenmann matthew.schoenmann@rcc.edu FACULTY ADVISERS Matt Schoenmann Angela Burrell
LETTERS TO THE
NEWS EDITOR Olivia Drobny viewpoints.news@gmail.com
OPINIONS EDITOR Ashley Hayner viewpoints.opinions@gmail.com
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Cheetara Piry
ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR Jada Hines
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Adrian Martinez viewpoints.sports@gmail.com
LIFE EDITOR Shannon Moore viewpoints.artsentertainment@gmail.com
PHOTO EDITOR Mathew Acosta viewpoints.photo@gmail.com
ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR Justin Romeo Amran Yoth
ONLINE EDITORS Justin Olson/Ashley Ortiz viewpoints.online@gmail.com
DESIGN EDITOR Lauryn Harris-Garcia viewpoints.designer@gmail.com
ILLUSTRATORS Perla Valenzuela Daniel Rebolledo Miranda Navarro Stephanie Arenas Neyra Rodriguez Jose Venegas Rolinda Espinoza Amairani Romero
ASSISTANT DESIGN EDITOR Julian Navarro
REPORTERS
Aniela Russo Jennipher Vasquez Chloe Hunter Diego Lomeli Joyce Nugent
Alyssa Aldrete Jennifer Torres Kyiesha Chavez Stephanie Arenas Peter Gibbs
Keyshonna Simmons Jesus Coronel Bianca Macias Daniela Ramirez Kennia Rainey
M E M B E R: REACH US: NEWSROOM PHONE: (951) 222-8488 E-MAIL: viewpoints@rcc.edu
Associated Collegiate Press
Journalism Association of Community Colleges
California Newspaper Publishers Association
EDITOR Letters to the editor should be kept to 250 words or less and include contact information. Deliver letters to the Viewpoints office in the room behind the Assessment Building. An electronic copy is required. Viewpoints reserves the right to edit letters for space and to reject libelous or obscene letters. Letters to the editor and columns represent the opinions of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire Viewpoints staff, Viewpoints faculty advisers, student government, faculty, administration nor the Board of Trustees.
PRINTING SCHEDULE Copy deadline:
September
25
Photo deadline:
September
25
Ad deadline:
September
25
Next issue:
October
1
Viewpoints is a public forum, First Amendment newspaper. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. © 2020 by the Viewpoints staff, Riverside City College, 4800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA. 92506-0528. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the Viewpoints Editor-in-Chief.