Donna Cohen: Almost all products are already inherently gender neutral

To The Daily Sun,

Imagine a child is given a writing assignment, “what I want to be when I grow up,” with a list divided into three columns: jobs for girls, jobs for boys and jobs for boys or girls. Some in the first column were nurse, hairdresser, florist, secretary and teacher. In the second were plumber, pilot, mechanic, electrician, and football player. In the section for both boys or girls were veterinarian, accountant, designer, movie star, and judge.

We all realize children shouldn’t be given an assignment that implies that any specific job is good for a particular sex, even when the choices reflect cultural norms and current job placement, but according to some, this should be done with toys sold in large retail stores. California Assemblymember Evan Low wrote the bill inspired by a girl who believed some toys were "off limits" for her. Low, concerned about children being “stigmatized or shamed” for wanting toys commonly marketed to the opposite sex, insists that stores provide a section for a “reasonable selection” of “gender neutral” items.

So who decides what amount is “reasonable” and which products are “gender neutral?” Are dolls only to be found in the girls section? Or are dolls depicted as doctors considered gender neutral while those with babies in strollers not? If a boy wants a doll, why would the government want to make it a point that he has to go to the "girls" section to buy it? Wouldn’t that open him up to the “stigma” or “shame” they want to prevent? If they are trying to disrupt gender social norms, as it seems, why would they insist on categorizing items base on those social norms?

All products, outside of those such as tampons or condoms made to address issues that correlate with particular physiological structures, are inherently gender neutral. If one applied the ideology behind Bill 1084 to a job fair (or child’s writing assignment), people would think it was ridiculous to have the offerings separated into predetermined groups based on social norms. This bill is a step backward, not an enlightened step forward.

Donna Cohen

Moultonborough