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 the case of Olympus Spa v. Armstrong, the 9th 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.
A three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit dismissed the spa’s First Amendment arguments for free exercise of religion and freedom of association in a May 2025 ruling. The 9th Circuit this week denied a rehearing in the case by the full bench, prompting a fiery dissent from one of the judges.
Judge Lawrence VanDyke, appointed to the 9th Circuit by President Donald Trump, used colorful language in his dissent that he acknowledged was not traditional.
“This is a case about swinging d****. The Christian owners of Olympus Spa—a traditional Korean, women-only, nude spa—understandably don’t want them in their spa,” VanDyke wrote. “Their female employees and female clients don’t want them in their spa either. But Washington State insists on them. And now so does the Ninth Circuit.”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts:
- District of Alaska
- District of Arizona
- Central District of California
- Eastern District of California
- Northern District of California
- Southern District of California
- District of Hawaii
- District of Idaho
- District of Montana
- District of Nevada
- District of Oregon
- Eastern District of Washington
- Western District of Washington
