A bill proposed in California would ban gendered signs designating boys and girls sections at large retailers

• A bill in California was proposed that would ban boys and girls sections at large retailers.
• Retailers would be required to remove gendered signage in the toy, childcare, and clothing sections.
• If passed, the bill would go into effect on January 1, 2024.

In California, a proposed legislation would put an end to boys and girls sections in large retailers.

The bill, Assembly Bill 1084, states that retailers with more than 500 employees would be required to remove gender-specific signage and "to maintain undivided areas of its sales floor."

This would apply to toys, clothing, and other childcare items. Online retailers that have a physical presence in California would be required to use gender-neutral terms on their websites.

"It's really important that toys and kids' sections be neutral in order to give kids as many opportunities to flourish and develop and be creative," Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, the chair of the California Legislative Women's Caucus and a co-author of the bill, told USA Today. "We should allow our kids to explore and try different things and let them come to their own conclusion of how they will identify themselves."

If passed, the bill will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Violating retailers could face a $1,000 civil penalty.

The bill was inspired by Target's gender-neutral toy section

The bill is co-authored by Garcia and Assemblyman Evan Low, the chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus.

On a personal level, Low was inspired to propose this legislation after a staffer's 9-year-old daughter had to search for science-related toys in the boy's aisle.

"That was the impetus of this, which is how do we make a safe space today for children in society," Low told The Sacramento Bee.

Low cited Target's decision to eliminate gendered toy sections in 2015 as another motivator, according to The Sacramento Bee.

"As much as I'd like to think of this as watershed legislation, this is something the industry is already doing," Low told The Sacramento Bee. "We're just trying to play catch up."

A previous version of the bill had been introduced in 2020 but was pulled so officials could focus on a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill follows recent news of Congress's expansion of civil rights protections to the LGBTQ community under the Equality Act and Hasbro's recent release of gender-neutral Potato Heads.