California Gives It Another Go: Lawmakers Try to Eliminate Stores' Rights to Have Exclusively Girl and Boy Children's Departments

Come to California: You’ll love the picturesque beaches, the golden-sun warmth, the intoxicating nightlife, and the rampant regulation.

Bonus: The government’s considering a new rule to add to its visitors brochure.

As reported by the California Globe, the state assembly will review a bill forcing department stores’ kids sections to be progressively “gender-neutral.”

Assembly Bill 1084 — submitted by Evan Low and Cristina Garcia — would add Part 2.57 to Division 1 of the Civil Code.

A few points:

Similar products marketed for girls or for boys must be placed in one area of the sales floor.

The majority of childcare items must be displayed in one area of the sales floor, even if they’ve been traditionally marketed to only one sex.

Any store selling kids’ clothing must place the majority of clothes in one area of the sales floor.

Any store selling kids’ toys must place the majority of toys in one area of the sales floor.

Per the Globe, they’re also sockin’ it to signage:

AB 1084 would also specify that it is not to be construed to constrain how a retailer promotes, displays, or presents a particular item within each undivided area of its sales floor where either childcare items, children’s clothing, or toys are being offered for sale. However, no signage is allowed to be used within any undivided area where either childcare items, children’s clothing, or toys are offered for sale indicating the items are for either girls or for boys.

And if that’s not enough to turn back historical social tyranny, any internet website for a California company selling childcare items, toys, clothing, or a combination will be required to set aside webspace for said products under “Unisex,” “Kids,” or “Gender Neutral.”

The legislature’s made some deep discoveries:

Among them:

(a) Unjustified differences in similar products that are traditionally marketed either for girls or for boys can be more easily identified by the consumer if similar items are displayed closer to one another in one, undivided area of the retail sales floor.
(b) 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.

And in case you were wondering, “childcare articles” is defined as “any product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children with sucking or teething.”

Clothing? That’s “any wearing apparel, worn for any purpose, including under and outer garments, shoes, and accessories composed primarily of woven material, natural or synthetic yarn, fiber, or leather or similar fabric.”

And “toys” denotes “all products designed or intended by the manufacturer to be used by children when they play.”

This isn’t the first time Evan Low’s tried to fix the problem of stores having the right to have only Girls and Boys departments.

In February of last year, the Democrat gave it a go via CA AB2826 (19R), which would’ve applied to department stores with 500 or more employees beginning in 2023.

He explained to Politico:

“This is an issue of children being able to express themselves without bias.”

At the time, RedState’s Kira Davis was unimpressed:

We’re inclined to ridicule California for their crazy policies, but given that the Democrat party is leaning dangerously close to nominating a communist it might behoove us to take California’s creeping fascism a bit more seriously.

There’s a never-ending river of refuse flowing from Sacramento into public policy and yet another unbelievable piece of legislation has been introduced recently. California is now considering a bill that would require retail stores to include a “gender neutral” section.

Nonetheless, in the fight against cultural close-mindedness with regard to kiddos, California’s not alone.

According to its website, the UK’s Let Toys Be Toys campaign asks “the toy and publishing industries to stop limiting children’s interests by promoting some toys and books as only suitable for girls, and others only for boys.”

“When toys are narrowly divided into ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ or signposted along the pink/blue divide,” the group says, “we risk limiting the possibilities and interests of our children.”

Cultural correction has an ally in Mattel — the toy titan released its gender-fluid doll playset nearly two and a half years ago.

As made clear by Senior Vice President of Mattel Fashion Doll Design Kim Culmone, the company was trying to give kids what they want.: