California has become the first state to require large department stores to display toys in gender-neutral ways. The new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend, does not outlaw traditional boys and girls sections at department stores, per the AP. Instead, it says large stores must also have a gender-neutral section to display “a reasonable selection" of items "regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys.” That does not include clothes. The law applies only to toys and “childcare items,” which include hygiene and teething products. And it only applies to stores with at least 500 employees, meaning small businesses are exempt.
While California is the first state to require this, some large department stores have already changed how they display their products. Target, with 1,915 stores across the United States, announced in 2015 it would stop using some gender-based signs in its stores. Assemblyman Evan Low, a Democrat from San Jose who authored the bill, said he was “incredibly grateful” Newsom signed the bill this year— the third time Democrats in the state Legislature have tried to pass this law, with similar bills failing in 2019 and 2020. The law was opposed by some Republicans and some conservative groups, who argued the government should not tell parents how to shop for their children.
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