Major retailers in California are required to have gender-neutral toy sections under a state law that went into effect Monday. Photo: Q Voice News.
Major retailers in California are required to have gender-neutral toy sections under a state law that went into effect Monday.
The law stems from AB 1084 bill, a 2021 bill requiring toy retailers with a physical location in the state and at least 500 employees “to maintain a gender-neutral section or area to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer.”
California became the first state in the nation to make such a requirement. The bill passed in a 49-16 vote in September 2021 and was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom the following month.
Clothes are not included.
The law only applies to toys and “childcare items,” such as hygiene and teething products.
“Keeping similar items that are traditionally marketed either for girls or for boys separated makes it more difficult for the consumer to compare the products and incorrectly implies that their use by one gender is inappropriate,” the law states.
Assemblyman Evan Low, (D-San Jose), who identifies as gay, authored the bill. It was the third time Democrats in the state Legislature introduced legislation regarding gender-neutral toy sections. Similar bills had failed in 2019 and 2020.
Low said he was inspired by the 10-year-old daughter of one of his staffers, who asked her mom why certain items in the store were “off limits” to her because she was a girl.
“We need to stop stigmatizing what’s acceptable for certain genders and just let kids be kids,” Low said in a statement. “My hope is this bill encourages more businesses across California and the U.S. to avoid reinforcing harmful and outdated stereotypes.”
While California is the first state to require this, some large department stores have already changed how they display their products.
For example, Target Corp., with more than 1,900 stores across the United States, announced in 2015 it would stop using some gender-based signs in its stores.
The bill was opposed by some Republicans and some conservative groups, who said the government should not tell parents how to shop for their children.
