Gov. Gavin Newsom's wife scolded reporters at a Planned Parenthood funding bill signing, accusing them of not caring about the 'horrific war on women in this country.'

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, is drawing attention online for resurfaced remarks in which she said she gives her boys dolls to play with and even changed male characters in books to females.

"I've given our boys dolls, even if they tear the head off," Newsom said in an undated interview that resurfaced on X. "I've given them dolls to learn that care and caregiving is not just an activity that's reserved for women but that it's also an activity that is a responsibility of men." 

She also said she changes male characters to female when reading books to her sons.

NEWSOM PUSHES THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO BE 'MORE CULTURALLY NORMAL' IF THEY WANT TO WIN

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Award-Winning Filmmaker, co-founder of California Partners Project, speaks on stage during the 2024 California Conference For Women at Santa Clara Convention Center on Feb. 29, 2024, in Santa Clara, California. (Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Conference for Women)

"What I have done with both my daughters and my sons is if I'm reading a book and the protagonist is a male, I just change the he to a she," Newsom said. "And it just normalizes for my sons, in particular, it’s not even... I don't even just do it for my girls, I do it for my sons because I want them to see that women can be the center of a story, that women matter, that women are interesting."  

Newsom also talked about deconstructing gender roles. 

"At the end of the day, we're all kind of like in this place in history maybe where we’re recognizing what it is to ultimately deconstruct all these gender roles and ultimately be human and that's exciting to me," Newsom said. "So you know, I'll just continue to kind of do my work and try and deconstruct all these limiting narratives about ultimately what it means to be human."

TRUMP ADMIN FINDS CALIFORNIA BAN ON NOTIFYING PARENTS OF GENDER TRANSITIONS VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom embrace during a campaign event in support of Proposition 50 in San Francisco, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

In a 2016 interview published on Salon.com, Newsom made similar remarks about giving her boys dolls to play with. 

"What do we need to do to combat that straitjacket of gender stereotypes that we put our kids into," Newsom asked. "We need to encourage our boys to play with dolls and stuffed animals and nurture them, and learn that caregiving and nurturing and love and empathy are not just feminine pursuits. We need to encourage girls to not only play with dolls and dress up, but to build things and play with Legos and trucks and be physical and go out there and kick a ball."

Newsom also recently drew attention from a resurfaced 2022 interview where she said in an interview with journalist Elex Michaelson when he was working at a local Los Angeles station, that evangelicals are "pulling us back as a country." 

Fox News Digital reached out to Siebel Newsom's office for comment. 

NEWSOM PUSHES THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO BE 'MORE CULTURALLY NORMAL' IF THEY WANT TO WIN

Montana Tessa Siebel Newsom, Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Gavin Newsom attend Vogue World: Hollywood 2025 at Paramount Studios on Oct. 26, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.  (Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Vogue)

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Rachel del Guidice is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to rachel.delguidice@fox.com.

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