Wi Spa controversy: Difference between revisions
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==Incident== |
==Incident== |
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A woman posted a video to her [[Instagram]] account on June 24, 2021, alleging that Wi Spa, a Korean [[spa]], had allowed a biological male to be [[Nudity|nude]] in the [[Sex segregation|women's side]] of the spa facilities, specifically the changing area. The woman, accompanied by two other women, confronted Wi Spa staff claiming "a man with a penis" was in the changing area and loudly accosting staff for many minutes, during which the woman mentions the possibility of the penis being exposed to children repeatedly. When questioned by a fellow customer in the video if she was referring to a "transgender person", she said "There is no such thing as transgender".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-06-30|title=Koreatown's Wi Spa At Center Of Controversy After Complaint About Transgender Customer|url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/06/30/koreatowns-wi-spa-at-center-of-controversy-after-complaint-about-transgender-customer/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-18|website=[[CBS]] - Los Angeles|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Urquhart|first=Evan|date=2021-07-09|title=Violence Over a Transphobic Hoax Shows the Danger of Underestimating Anti-Trans Hate|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/07/wi-spa-la-transphobic-protest.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=[[Slate Magazine]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Anders |first=Caroline |title=A trans woman reportedly undressed in a spa. Customers said they were 'traumatized,' and a protest ensued. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/05/transgender-woman-los-angeles-spa/ |access-date=July 18, 2021 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=July 8, 2021}}</ref> In a follow-up comment on the video, the woman posted "REAL WOMEN RIGHTS MATTER".<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Allegations of hoax == |
== Allegations of hoax == |
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| Date | June 24, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Wi Spa, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California |
| Coordinates | 34°3′38″N 118°16′58″W / 34.06056°N 118.28278°W |
| Also known as | Wi Spa incident |
| Cause | Allegation of nudity in a women's changing room by a transgender woman |
| Non-fatal injuries | Police-inflicted injuries involving less-than-lethal weapons, no police or demonstrators hospitalized.[1] |
| Arrests | Dozens (July 17 protests)[1] |
On June 24, 2021, a cisgender woman claimed that a transgender woman was allowed nude inside the Wi Spa in Los Angeles, California. The claim attracted significant attention from right-wing media and led to multiple protests and counter-protests over the alleged access.
Background
Traditionally, Korean baths and spas known as jjimjilbang (Korean pronunciation: [t͈ɕimdʑilbaŋ]; Korean: 찜질방; Hanja: 찜질房; MR: tchimjilbang, lit. 'Steamed-quality room') mandate nudity within gender-segregated areas, and are, according to the BBC, a "family affair".[2][3]
Wi Spa is a 24-hour Korean spa located in the Koreatown "in the heart of Los Angeles", according to the spa. It offers four flours: two gender-segregated floors, one co-ed jjimjilbang floor, and a rooftop floor.[3][4] Wi Spa's policies for guests mandate that in the gender-segregated floors that swimwear not be worn, however in co-ed areas "proper clothing" is required.[3][5]
The spa touts a strong Equal Employment Opportunity policy for employees as well a suitably-inclusive "Equal Access" policy for customers which covers "age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law"[4]
Incident
A woman posted a video to her Instagram account on June 24, 2021, alleging that Wi Spa, a Korean spa, had allowed a biological male to be nude in the women's side of the spa facilities, specifically the changing area. The woman, accompanied by two other women, confronted Wi Spa staff claiming "a man with a penis" was in the changing area and loudly accosting staff for many minutes, during which the woman mentions the possibility of the penis being exposed to children repeatedly. When questioned by a fellow customer in the video if she was referring to a "transgender person", she said "There is no such thing as transgender".[6][7][8] In a follow-up comment on the video, the woman posted "REAL WOMEN RIGHTS MATTER".[6]
Allegations of hoax
On July 7, 2021, an exclusive published in the Los Angeles Blade, a Southern California offshoot of the Washington Blade, a prominent LGBT newspaper, said anonymous sources from Wi Spa staff and within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) have cast significant doubt on the incident as described within the video — the Wi Spa source saying that transgender clients are well-known by staff and none of them were in the day's spa records and the LAPD source saying the department currently couldn't evidentially-substantiate the incident or find evidence of trans presence on the day in question. The Blade writer speculated that a cisgender man could have acted in concert with the woman in the video, recalling a 2015 incident in Washington in which anti-transgender activists asked cisgender men to enter female-only areas as a form of protest.[9]
Public reactions and responses
The incident video went viral on June 27, 2021, and sparked online conflict, including threats of boycott. Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative political commentator, posted two videos on June 27 via his Twitter account that reached hundreds of thousands according to view counters.[10]
In a statement to Los Angeles Magazine published June 29, 2021, Wi Spa said "Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a transgender population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa. Wi Spa strives to meet the needs of all its customers." The spa also specified that California Civil Code 51(b) makes it illegal for the spa to discriminate against transgender and gender-nonconforming people.[10]
As part of a story published June 30, 2021, Bamby Salcedo, CEO of the Los Angeles-based TransLatin@ Coalition, said the behavior of the woman in the video is not uncommon, saying "we experience this type of violence every single day of our lives" and stated that her behavior showed ignorance.[6]
Right-wing news media, including Fox News, The Christian Post, OneNewsNow, Blaze Media, The Daily Wire and RealClearPolitics, were accused by Media Matters for America of spreading the incident as an anti-trans story and using it as an example to impugn transgender rights.[11]
Protests
Evaluating the composition of demonstrators, the Los Angeles Blade described those protesting against the spa and transgender access to it as "a mix of religious fundamentalist street preachers, QAnon conspiracy theorists chanting 'save our children,' and Proud Boys". Counter-protesters were noted as LGBT activists and black bloc Antifa members.[9] Newsweek corroborated QAnon and Proud Boy presence.[12][13]
July 3
Outside Wi Spa, anti-trans demonstrators scheduled to begin the protest at 11am. The opposing groups came to blows repeatedly, after which the Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly. The LAPD Rampart Division suppressed both groups with riot control using physical force and less-than-lethal weapons, notably engaging Antifa members with batons. One individual was taken to medical facilities following the protest. Police gave conflicting reports of arrests, but said there were at least three instances of assault and battery and two instances of assault with a deadly weapon.[12][14][15] Yahoo! News claimed one person was stabbed at the event,[14] Slate Magazine claimed there were two, a pro-trans counter-protester stabbed by an anti-trans protester and an anti-trans protester accidentally stabbed by an allied individual.[7]
July 17
Demonstrators and counter-demonstrators again surrounded Wi Spa in the late morning, however police presence had been increased compared to the July 3 protest. According to the LAPD, the groups began to scuffle between each other and police starting around 11:10 a.m., after which an unlawful assembly was declared, and both groups were suppressed and dispersed with riot control tactics. No individuals were hospitalized. Dozens of arrests were made. After crowds dispersed, police said pepper spray, stun guns, and knives were found on the streets.[13][1][16][17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Protests over transgender rights at LA spa turn violent". STLtoday.com. Associated Press. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ Sood, Suemedha (November 29, 2012). "The origins of bathhouse culture around the world". BBC. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Best of LA – Wi Spa". Los Angeles Magazine. August 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "About Wi Spa". Wi Spa USA. July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Spa Etiquette". Wi Spa USA. July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Koreatown's Wi Spa At Center Of Controversy After Complaint About Transgender Customer". CBS - Los Angeles. June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Urquhart, Evan (July 9, 2021). "Violence Over a Transphobic Hoax Shows the Danger of Underestimating Anti-Trans Hate". Slate Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Anders, Caroline (July 8, 2021). "A trans woman reportedly undressed in a spa. Customers said they were 'traumatized,' and a protest ensued". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Lansing, Robert (July 8, 2021). "Alleged Trans incident at upscale LA Spa may have been staged". Los Angeles Blade. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Spiegelman, Ian; Brandes, Rebekah (June 29, 2021). "Exclusive: A Saturday Showdown Is in the Works Over Trans Blowup at Wi Spa". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ January, Brianna (July 12, 2021). "Right-wing media uncritically spread a disputed story to attack trans-inclusive public spaces". Media Matters for America. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Anglesey, Anders (July 4, 2021). "QAnon followers join protests over Wi Spa complaint about trans customer". Newsweek. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Kika, Thomas (July 17, 2021). "Los Angeles police declare unlawful assembly as Proud Boys protest Wi Spa's transgender policy". Newsweek. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Ruiz, Michael (July 3, 2021). "Los Angeles spa protest turns violent after alleged transgender exposure incident". Yahoo News. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Levesque, Brody (July 4, 2021). "LAPD says anti-Trans protest at Koreatown spa erupts in violence". Los Angeles Blade. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Fry, Hannah; Lozano, Carlos (July 17, 2021). "LAPD orders crowd to disperse during protests over transgender rights at Koreatown spa". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Dozens arrested, weapons found at transgender rights protest outside Koreatown spa". KTLA. July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)