The Stonestown Family YMCA in San Francisco has overhauled its locker room guidelines following complaints from members about a transgender individual who has used the women’s locker room for roughly two years.
The YMCA of Greater San Francisco posted updated visiting guidelines on its website under a banner reading “WE’VE UPDATED our locker room policy.” The revised rules state that nudity must be “discreet, limited, and brief” and is “permitted only while actively showering.” Members are instructed to “maintain appropriate distance from others, be mindful of personal space during times of undress, and demonstrate courtesy at all times.” The policy also specifies that hair dryers are to be used for “drying head hair only.”
The facility did not publicly identify the member at the center of the dispute. The Daily Mail, which first reported the controversy Sunday, identified the individual only as “Sammy.”
Dozens of members signed a petition calling on the facility to require the patron to use a designated gender-neutral changing space, according to the Daily Mail. Protesters also gathered outside the Stonestown location and at least one other Bay Area YMCA.
Susan Pete, a 59-year-old member, told the Daily Mail the updated rules appeared to be aimed at patrons who had drawn complaints, though the YMCA made no such statement publicly.
Despite the new restrictions on conduct, the Stonestown YMCA’s core access policy remains in place. The updated guidelines continue to state that “members and guests may use the locker of their gender identity.”
The policy change comes as transgender access to single-sex spaces has become a flashpoint in communities across the country. Several states have passed laws restricting transgender individuals from using bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity in public schools and government facilities, though private organizations like the YMCA are not covered under most such legislation.
