Opinion
California rings in the new year with a slew of new left-wing laws, none of which will help the embattled state recover from the steady decline in the standard of living. Perhaps the most ridiculous law of them all is one that compels stores over a certain threshold of employees to have “gender-neutral” toy aisles.
The law is one of many gestures made by the progressive state to bend the knee to the gender ideology cult that has been actively trying to dismantle long-held societal norms under the ruse of “diversity” and “inclusion.” This law, which is sold as a way to empower ‘kids to be kids’, will do nothing of the sort.
Let kids be kids
California stores will be fined up to $500 this year if they don’t provide a “gender-neutral” toy section for kids aged 12 and younger.
The legislation claims that:
“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.”
Let’s make sure we get this straight. The legislation implies that the average consumer, presumed to be predominantly parents, cannot compare products from one aisle to another or figure out which toys are for boys?
Should such people be allowed to care for dependent human beings? And since the law only applies to bigger stores, are they saying people who shop at smaller stores are smart enough?
Additionally, the California legislature believes that the average parental consumer is too weak to make their own decisions against the grain of marketing pressures. The author of this head-slapper, California Democrat Evan Low, claims:
“We need to stop stigmatizing what’s acceptable for certain genders and just let kids be kids.”
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That is an interesting argument coming from an individual who doesn’t have kids.
Mr. Low goes on to say:
“My hope is this bill encourages more businesses across California and the U.S. to avoid reinforcing harmful and outdated stereotypes.”
Let’s dive deeper into that idea for a spell.
Harmful and outdated?
I’m a mother of two: a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. I will acknowledge I am not a parenting expert; nobody is a parenting expert – except maybe the Watts, who put three kids into the NFL.
Jokes aside, I can tell you that kids will always be kids, no matter what you try to do to steer them in any particular way. My daughter loves dresses and dolls just as much as she loves G.I. Joe and her remote-controlled cars.
My son likes to wrestle and play with his Hot Wheels cars, and on the same day, he will play with his sister’s dolls and never passes up cuddles at the end of the day. It is not harmful to market Barbie dolls to girls and G.I. Joe action figures to boys, nor does it reinforce a negative stereotype.
Kids will play with whatever they want and in my house that is often an empty box or tupperware, and they find their own personality and interests just fine without too much interference from society or parents. Furthermore, I can’t remember when I bought toys for my kids in a physical store.
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Perhaps it’s the Millennial in me, but I do most of my shopping online, where “girl” and “boy” aisles don’t exist. Allegedly, Mr. Low got the idea for this bill after an eight-year-old girl said to him:
“Why should a store tell me what a girl’s shirt or toy is?”
Not only do I not buy this fanciful story, but if it is true, the correct response to this young lady should’ve been that it isn’t the store telling you anything. The clothes are literally made differently because girls’ and boys’ bodies aren’t the same.
The easy way out
This law illustrates the sheer laziness of lawmakers in California and is honestly indicative across the United States. Currently, California is grappling with a 9.13% increase in violent crime.
Three-quarters of California students lack proficiency in every core subject in school. Instead of tackling a real crisis that negatively impacts real Californians, it’s easier for legislators like Mr. Low and Governor Newsom to claim major wins for children and minorities by passing laws such as this gender-neutral toy monstrosity.
Instead of honing in on the lessons learned last year from the backlash of Dylan Mulvaney and the Bud Light campaign and Target with the “tuck-friendly” swimwear for children, California lawmakers are doubling down on gender ideology. Will California voters get smart and vote these special-interest puppets out of office?
It doesn’t look like it. Instead, they are abandoning the state in droves, moving out to locations with less crime and an easier way of life.
Let’s hope they don’t bring with them the progressive ideologies that destroyed their home state.
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