WDI USA has filed a friend of the court brief in a case called Olympus Spa, et al. v. Armstrong, et al. At issue in the case is the ability of a female-only nude spa to exclude men. A man named Haven Wilvich had been excluded from the spa (which has a clear women-only policy) and brought the spa before the Washington State Human Rights Commission. He won, and the spa fought back by filing a federal lawsuit. In its order dismissing the spa’s complaint, the District Court for the Western District of Washington repeatedly used the phrase “transgender women with male genitalia” uncritically and without explanation. The case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As we say in our brief, “It is truly a testament to where we are as a society today that it must be said in the context of federal civil rights litigation that women don’t have penises.”
From the brief:
“WDI USA is interested in this appeal for three reasons. First, as an organization, we can hardly protect the rights of women and girls to associate exclusively with other women and girls if places of public accommodation like Olympus Spa are legally prohibited from excluding men and boys on the basis of their “gender expressions or identities.” Second, we think states like Washington are on a collision course: They cannot, as a practical matter, enforce both public accommodations laws like the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), Wash. Rev. Code § 49.60.040(27), and also state criminal laws like those prohibiting voyeurism and indecent exposure. Third, the linguistic destabilization caused by uncritical use of words like “transgender” and “gender expression or identity” is producing massive confusion throughout society and undermining decades’ worth of case law designed to protect women and girls as a sex class. In view of its work on these issues, WDI USA has a meaningful perspective to offer the Court.”
Exactly!
Thank you for standing up for Women born with REAL Vaginas! The invasion of our safe spaces has to end.
Thank you so much for filing this amicus brief. I live in WA, I’ve been to the Olympus Spa a couple of times long before it was invaded by men, and it was a wonderful place. I often remember how incredibly relaxing it was to be surrounded by women only and to only hear other female voices. The Olympus Spa was truly a refuge, and this is a very important case for all of the reasons WDI has stated.