Civil Rights,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Jul. 18, 2025
9th Circuit: Nudity doesn't make public spas private, trans women can't be excluded
In reaffirming that nudity doesn't make a public business an "intimate association," the 9th Circuit delivers a powerful blow to privacy-based challenges against trans-inclusive access policies.
In its 2025 decision in Olympus Spa v. Armstrong, the 9th Circuit reaffirmed a central tenet of anti-discrimination law: public accommodations -- regardless of cultural or religious views -- must comply with laws that prohibit exclusion based on gender identity. But it was a single sentence in the majority opinion that may reverberate far beyond the walls of a Korean women's spa: "nudity alone does...
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