🧵The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will not be making a decision today in the Olympus Spa case.
The Seattle Korean female-only nude spa was found to have discriminated against a trans woman (biological male) in 2022 after it prohibited him from bathing naked with women.
The Seattle Korean female-only nude spa was found to have discriminated against a trans woman (biological male) in 2022 after it prohibited him from bathing naked with women.
The Washington Human Rights Commission previously ordered the spa to remove the phrase "biological women" off its website, have employees undergo "inclusivity" trainings, and permit trans women with fully-intact genitals into its female-only facilities.
Kevin Snider, an attorney for the spa, argued to the federal court that the Korean establishment's women-only policy should be protected under the First Amendment, citing its cultural protection laws.
Olympus Spa follows the Korean tradition of jimjilbang (sex-segregated bathhouses) and requires its female customers to be naked.
Because of its nude policy, Snider argued that women, including minors, cannot consent to men invading their designated female-only spaces.
Because of its nude policy, Snider argued that women, including minors, cannot consent to men invading their designated female-only spaces.
Judge Margaret McKeown, appointed by Bill Clinton, pushed back on Snider and argued a business cannot discriminate based on gender identity.
"It's not biological women are welcome, it's non-biological women are not welcome," she said.
"It's not biological women are welcome, it's non-biological women are not welcome," she said.
Judge McKeown compared the discrimination to white people banning black people from entering establishments during the civil rights era.
Judge Kenneth Lee, appointed by Donald Trump, argued a different take.
He said gender identity discrimination is not referenced under Title 7, therefore it should not be applied the same as sex discrimination — which is what the Human Rights Commission argued.
He said gender identity discrimination is not referenced under Title 7, therefore it should not be applied the same as sex discrimination — which is what the Human Rights Commission argued.
Judge Lee said this discrimination case comes with a serious "gray area" as women and minor girls are being forced to expose themselves to biological men in protected intimate settings.
A ruling will be offered at the next hearing. A date has not yet been decided.
Read more on the case:
Korean Christian spa in Seattle forced to allow trans women (biological males) to bathe nude with women thepostmillennial.com/korean-christi…
Read more on the case:
Korean Christian spa in Seattle forced to allow trans women (biological males) to bathe nude with women thepostmillennial.com/korean-christi…
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