‘Gross retro transphobia’: Another SF spa accused of discrimination
Imperial Day Spa in Japantown allegedly ousted a trans man from the men's hot tub.
Calder Storm was lounging in a hot tub with a friend at Imperial Day Spa when two attendants approached him with a question: “Are you transgender?”
“That’s inappropriate,” Storm responded. “Why are you asking?”
The employees told him they had received a complaint and said Storm — who’s transmasculine with a state ID to back it up — would have to leave.
The exchange that followed was caught on
a video that’s racking up thousands of views on YouTube. The Geary Street Korean spa is the second San Francisco bathhouse to face
accusations of anti-trans discrimination this month.
“It was a violation, first and foremost, of my privacy, my humanity, my dignity,” Storm said. “It was degrading, and I think at its core, it was dehumanizing.”
The March 5 incident happened around the same time the city’s Human Rights Commission began investigating
Archimedes Banya, the city’s only coed clothing-optional bathhouse, for excluding trans people two days a month.
On his way out of the Japantown establishment that evening, Storm asked staff to elaborate on the policies that prompted the ouster. His friend, Erik Gibb, hit record.
“So, I’m just curious, do you have an anti-trans policy?” Storm asked. “Are trans people not allowed to be here?”
An employee explained that the spa segregates based on genitalia: People with penises go to the men’s side, and people with vaginas go to the women’s side.
Dozens of people showed up to protest the spa on Monday.| Source: Florence Middleton for The Standard
Calder Storm waves a trans pride flag. | Source: Florence Middleton for The Standard
Demonstrators pop off color bombs in the parking lot outside the Imperial Day Spa. | Source: Florence Middleton for The Standard
“Well, what about women who have penises and men who have vaginas?” Storm pressed. “How do you segregate them?”
“We still go based on genital parts,” the staffer said.
Storm asked to see the written policy, to no avail. He went on to show his driver’s license, which describes him as male, the video shows.
An attorney for Imperial Spa said he’d provide comment on the incident but didn’t respond by publication time.
In a statement about the Archimedes probe, the Human Rights Commission commented on how it comes at a time when trans and nonbinary people face “a barrage of attacks” and that the city is committed to protecting them from discrimination.
