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Woman credited with starting gender-reveal parties has ‘mixed feelings’ about them now

Mom-to-three Jenna Karvunidis threw the first reported gender reveal party back in 2008. Launa Penza Photography

Gender-reveal parties are huge now, with celebrity moms like Kate Hudson and Shay Mitchell gathering their loved ones as they reveal if they’re having a boy or a girl.

But the original “inventor” of the idea is having some regrets now.

Los Angeles-based mom Jenna Karvunidis, who runs the blog High Gloss and Sauce, threw one of the first reported gender-reveal parties back in 2008 when she was pregnant with her daughter, Bianca.

Karvunidis said that she doesn’t take credit for being the one to start the trend, though she was certainly among the first.

“I just gave form to having the doctor put the news in an envelope and revealing it through cake icing at a party,” she told BuzzFeed.

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On July 25, the 39-year-old writer took to Facebook to open up about her concerns with how popular the idea has become.

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“I’ve felt a lot of mixed feelings about my random contribution to the culture,” she wrote. “Who cares what gender the baby is?”

READ MORE: Police release video of gender-reveal ‘burnout’ gone wrong in Australia

Back when she threw that first party, she was interviewed by parenting magazine The Bump — an article she has framed on her wall to this day.

She continued in the post: “I did at the time because we didn’t live in 2019 and didn’t know what we know now — that assigning focus on gender at birth leaves out so much of their potential and talents that have nothing to do with what’s between their legs.”

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But the best part of her story? The child she celebrated by cutting into a pink cake now counts herself as a non-binary-fashion blogger who loves wearing suits.

“As for gender in general, I’m taking my daughter’s lead,” she said.

meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca

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