Washington women’s spa with mandatory nudity gets court order to admit trans women
A women’s spa in Washington with mandatory nudity has been ordered by a judge to allow trans women with penises after its owner tried to ban them and an activist sued.
The Olympus Spa had attempted to sue the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) after being ordered to change their eligibility rules.
Trans woman Haven Wilvich had tried to apply to join the Korean spa but was refused, as the spa had told her that “transgender women without surgery are not welcome” and complained to the committee.
Now a Washington district court had dismissed the lawsuit brought by the spa, upholding the WSHRC’s original ruling.
In her verdict, court judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein upheld the WSHRC’s ruling, saying the measures taken to prevent the spa from adopting a women-only policy were lawful.
Haven Wilvich, pictured here, had tried to apply for the spa but was denied
Wilvich claimed the spa said ‘transgender women without surgery are not welcome’ and complained to the commission
In her first complaint to the commission, Wilvich said she was a transgender woman who was “biologically male” and had not undergone sex reassignment surgery.
Wilvich claimed she went to the spa in January 2020 looking for a service but was discriminated against.
She claims that Olympus Spa told her that “transgender women without surgery are not welcome because it could make other customers and staff uncomfortable.”
In March 2021, the WSHRC had issued a Notice of Discrimination Complaint to spa owner Myoon Woon Lee and spa president Sun Lee.
The commission asked them to respond to Wilvich’s claims, with Sun Lee releasing a statement backing their decision.
Lee explained that Olympus was a family-owned “Korean Traditional Spa for Women,” noting that nudity was required for certain treatments.
He wrote: “We believe it is essential to the safety, legal protection and well-being of our customers and employees that we continue to comply with this women-only rule change.”
Lee explained that Olympus was a family-owned “Korean traditional spa for women” and noted that nudity was required for certain treatments
Wilvich claimed she went to the spa in January 2020 looking for a service but was discriminated against.
The spa disputed the Wilvich’s claims, claiming they had no documentation proving she ever signed up to enter the facility.
Lee also trained on the traditions of Jjimjilbang, large gender-segregated bathhouses in Korea.
Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein upheld the WSHRC’s ruling and said the measures taken by them were lawful
He concluded their response by saying the spa was “willing to consider reviewing” [its] current women-only biological policy’.
The caveat Lee said was that ‘we are not willing to remake the ‘jjimjilbang’ as they have ‘worked so hard over many years to build and maintain simply to promote gender neutrality’.
The two also said they are both Christians, citing their faith as a reason why they would not put men in the facility.
The spa disputed the Wilvich’s claims, claiming they had no documentation proving she ever signed up to enter the facility.
But the WSHRC upheld their ruling and offered the spa a Pre-Finding Settlement Agreement to avoid prosecution.
The Pre-Finding Settlement required the spa to remove all references to “biological women” on their site and to provide staff with “inclusiveness” training.
This led to the Spa’s lawsuit, which said their First Amendment rights had been violated.
The court gave Olympus Spa 30 days to amend and resubmit their complaint.
Wilvich had previously boasted about the success of her complaints on Facebook following the initial WSHRC ruling.
She said, ‘I did it! I worked with the WSHRC and got Olympus Spa (the main nude ladies spa in the area) to change their policy and allow all self-identified women access, regardless of surgeries and genitals.”
In another post, she said, “Making fun of Viagra or small penises is not the feminist act you think it is. It harms trans women and women with penises.’
Wilvich had previously boasted about the success of her complaints on Facebook following the initial WSHRC ruling
The spa disputed the Wilvich’s claims, claiming they had no documentation proving she ever signed up to enter the facility
Wilvich had previously served on the board of the Seattle Nonbinary Collective and described herself as a “tall, bearded, trans femme, born in King County”
Wilvich also posted on Facebook, writing, “I realized something important today. I am more woman than any TERF will ever be, because I am an intentional woman, while they are but incidental.’
Prior to his transition, Wilvich also served on the board of the Seattle Nonbinary Collective and described herself as a “tall, bearded, trans femme, born in King County.”
Olympus Spa is not the first Korean spa in the United States to come under the crosshairs of the gender ideology debate over the past two years.
In 2021, a Korean spa in California made international headlines after a trans-identified sex offender was allowed access to its women’s facilities in accordance with California state law.
Suspect Darren Merager was on the run for 15 months after the controversy, which led to riots between Antifa and women’s rights activists.
Merager faces five felony counts of indecent exposure.