A Redditor visiting the beach in Southern California was dismayed to see an enormous patch of sand and cliffside covered in what appeared to be pink paint, the aftermath of a gender reveal party.
They posted a photo on Reddit in the r/SLO community, saying: "The disrespect. Gender reveal in Avila down by the cliffs.. all over the sand and rocks. They should be forced to clean it up."
Commenters were incensed. "Please send this picture to Pismo PD or something," one person wrote. "They need to be punished."
"This needs to be reported," another agreed.
The trend of the increasingly elaborate — and often pollutive — gender reveal parties has caused quite a stir.
Some are locally disruptive. People have abandoned piles of confetti in parks, spewed toxic colored smoke out of a car, or even dyed a pigeon pink (it later perished, likely from inhaling the toxins, according to the New York Times).
Others have more widespread impacts, like the couple whose pyrotechnic device sparked the deadly El Dorado wildfire or the couple in Brazil who dyed a waterfall blue. Across the country, the parties have become almost synonymous with environmental destruction.
"Why do people need to deface something in nature to tell people about their baby?" one person wondered.
"Man, back in my day people just got a cake with a surprise color inside. So much easier and more fun than making a mess," another wrote.
While some perpetrators are held accountable for their actions — in February, the El Dorado couple was sentenced to a plea that included jail time, community service, and $1.8 million in restitution, per ABC 7 — many times, that doesn't happen.
"Sadly, I'm sure they won't be held accountable," one person speculated.
Meanwhile, another person seemed hopeful that the Avila cliff mess wasn't as bad as it seemed, wondering if the couple had used a biodegradable option.
It's uncertain if that was indeed the case, but the good news is there are plenty of options for people who want to celebrate gender reveals in more eco-friendly ways, from cakes to color-changing drinks, or even a homemade recycled piñata. Above all, we should try our best to stay in the know about climate issues.
"The best thing we can do in these situations is to educate people," another person shared in the comments.
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