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Being a large multinational corporation, the Walt Disney Company must comply with hundreds of laws across dozens of nations. At Disney’s six theme park resorts, two domestic and four international, it’s a logistical nightmare keeping up with the various laws of each country.
But if you include Disney Stores, the company must comply with thousands of laws in 10 different countries, and as Disney is finding out in Florida with the loss of Reedy Creek at the Walt Disney World Resort, not complying comes with consequences.
The Disney Store. Credit: Disney
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But now, Disney has to comply with a new California law that will change the look of its Disney Stores in the state and any shopping areas in the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. A new California law that went into effect on January 1 requires any store with more than 500 employees to have a “gender-neutral toy aisle.”
The law states that stores must “maintain a gender-neutral section or area, to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer, in which a reasonable selection of the items and toys for children that it sells shall be displayed, regardless of whether they have been traditionally marketed for either girls or for boys.”
Credit: Michael Kappel, Flickr.
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When introducing the law, California Assemblyman Evan Low said:
No child should feel stigmatized for wearing a dinosaur shirt or playing with a Barbie doll, and separating items that are traditionally marketed for either girls or boys makes it more difficult for the consumer to compare products. It also incorrectly implies that their use by one gender is inappropriate.
The law does not define what a “gender-neutral toy aisle” should look like or what gender-neutral toys are. Retailers who do not comply with the new state law will be fined $500 for “repeat offenses.” However, the bill does not define how many offenses would be described as “repeat” or if the fine occurs after the first offense or a subsequent violation.
Credit: Disney
