An appeals court determined that biological men should be permitted to enter an all-female spa for ages 13 and up in Washington state—prompting a federal judge to issue a blunt dissent.
In Olympus Spa v. Armstrong, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Washington state can enforce an anti-discrimination law to allow a biological man to enter the spa if he identifies as a woman.
The facility in question is a Korean-inspired women’s spa that limits admission to females only, because its services involve full nudity for Korean scrubs, communal bathing, saunas, and massages, according to the Pacific Justice Institute.
The Washington State Human Rights Commission alleged the spa violated the state’s public accommodation law and the Washington Law Against Discrimination.