A Washington women’s spa with mandatory nudity has been ordered by a judge to start admitting trans women after the owner tried to ban them and an activist complained.
Olympus Spa had tried to sue the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) after it was ordered to change its admissions rules.
Trans woman Haven Wilvich had tried to apply to join the spa but was turned down, alleging the spa told her ‘transgender women without surgery are not welcome’ and complained to the commission.
Now, a Washington district court had dismissed the spa’s lawsuit and upheld the WSHRC’s original decision.
In her ruling, District Court Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein upheld the WSHRC’s ruling and said the steps taken to prevent the spa from having a women-only policy were legal.
Haven Wilvich, pictured here, had tried to apply to join the spa but was turned down
Wilvich claimed the spa said ‘transgender women without surgery are not welcome’ and complained to the commission
In her initial complaint to the commission, Wilvich said she was a transgender woman who was “biologically male” and had not had sex reassignment surgery.
Wilvich alleged that she went to the spa in January 2020 seeking service but was discriminated against.
She claims Olympus Spa told her that “transgender women without surgery are not welcome as it may make other customers and staff uncomfortable.”
In March 2021, the WSHRC served spa owner Myoon Woon Lee and spa president Sun Lee with a notice of discrimination complaint.
The commission asked them to respond to Wilvich’s claims, with Sun Lee issuing a statement confirming their decision.
Lee explained that Olympus was a family-run “traditional Korean women’s spa” and noted that nudity was required for some treatments.
He wrote: “We strongly believe that it is essential for the safety, legal protection and well-being of our customers and employees that we maintain compliance with this adaptation of a women-only rule.”
Lee explained that Olympus was a family-run “traditional Korean women’s health spa” and noted that nudity was required for some treatments.
Wilvich alleged she went to the spa, pictured here, in January 2020 seeking a service, but was discriminated against
Lee also provided education on the traditions of Jjimjilbang, which are large gender-separated bathhouses in Korea.
Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein upheld the ruling by the WSHRC and said the actions taken by them were lawful
He concluded their response by saying that the spa was “willing to consider a review of [its] current policy reserved for biological women”.
The caveat to what Lee said was that “we don’t want to redo the ‘jjimjilbang’ given that they had ‘worked so hard for many years to build and preserve, simply for the purpose of promoting the neutrality of gender “.
The two also said they were both Christians and cited their religions as reasons why they did not want to host men at the facility.
The spa disputed Wilvich’s claims, saying they had no documentation showing she had ever applied to enter the facility.
But the WSHRC upheld its decision and offered the spa an advance settlement agreement to avoid lawsuits.
The pre-closing settlement required the spa to remove all references to “biological women” on its site and provide staff with “inclusive” training.
This prompted Spa’s lawsuit, claiming their First Amendment rights had been violated.
The court offered Olympus Spa 30 days to amend its complaint and file a new case.
Wilvich had previously bragged about the success of her complaints on Facebook after the WSHRC’s initial decision.
She said: ‘I did it! I worked with the WSHRC and asked Olympus Spa (the main nude women’s spa in the area) to change their policies and allow access to all self-identifying women regardless of surgery and genitals.
In another post, she said, “Making fun of Viagra or small penises is not the feminist act you think it is.” It hurts trans women and women with penises.
Wilvich previously bragged about the success of her complaints on Facebook after the WSHRC’s initial ruling
The spa disputed Wilvich’s claims, saying they had no documentation showing she had ever applied to enter the facility.
Wilvich had previously served on the board of the Seattle Nonbinary Collective and described himself as a “tall, bearded, trans-female, King County native.”
Wilvich also posted on Facebook, writing, “I achieved something big today. I’m more of a woman than any TERF will ever be because I’m an intentional woman while they’re not as accessories.
Prior to his transition, Wilvich also served on the board of the Seattle Nonbinary Collective and described himself as “a tall, bearded, transgender, King County native.”
Olympus Spa is not the first Korean spa in the United States to be in 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 gained access to women’s facilities under California state law.
