A landmark legal settlement in New Jersey has mandated a significant policy shift for a traditional Korean spa, requiring it to admit transgender women into its female-only nude areas, regardless of whether they have undergone gender-confirmation surgery.
The Lawsuit That Sparked the Change
The case centred on Alexandra ‘Allie’ Goebert, a transgender woman who filed a lawsuit against King Spa in Palisades Park, N.J., in 2022. The incident began when Goebert visited the spa with a female friend. Despite presenting a driver's licence that identified her as female, spa staff initially directed her to the men's locker room.
After Goebert explained she was a transgender woman, she was granted access to the women's area. However, the situation escalated when a locker room attendant reported her presence to a manager. The manager, Youn Park, directly asked Goebert if she had "boy parts." Upon her confirmation, the spa ejected her from the female-only section.
Goebert refused an alternative offer to use the women's area while wearing a bathing suit, stating she did not have one and asserting that the spa's actions violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
The Legal Outcome and New Policies
Instead of proceeding to a jury trial scheduled for August 11, 2025, the two parties reached a confidential settlement on August 28, 2025. As part of the consent order, King Spa agreed to compensate Goebert for her distress and, more significantly, to overhaul its operational policies.
The spa must now implement gender identity-friendly policies, which include effectively eliminating its sex-segregated facilities. This means individuals of any gender can use all amenities, even if their physical anatomy does not conform to stereotypical expectations for that space.
Furthermore, King Spa is required to update its employee handbook with a detailed non-discrimination policy that explicitly protects individuals based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
A Growing Precedent for Transgender Access
This case is not an isolated one. The article highlights a similar lawsuit involving the Olympus Spa in Washington state. There, a transgender woman named Haven Wilvich had her membership application declined in January 2020 after the owner stated that pre-operative transgender women were not welcome.
Despite the spa's arguments citing First Amendment rights and the owner's Christian faith, the Washington State Human Rights Commission upheld the discrimination complaint. Both New Jersey and Washington state laws affirm the right of transgender individuals to use facilities that correspond with their gender identity.
This growing legal precedent signals a continuing national conversation about the intersection of gender identity, public accommodation, and traditional business models.
