A Californian teenager sobbed before the city council as she told of her trauma at seeing ‘a naked man’ she says was a transgender woman inside the women’s changing rooms at her local YMCA.
Rebecca Philips, 17, addressed the meeting in Santee, a city suburb of San Diego, on Wednesday night to demand reform to the existing policy after encountering the unidentified individual.
She told the council how, two weeks ago, she was getting changed after swimming at the Santee YMCA when she saw a transgender woman naked in the changing rooms.
‘As I was showering after my workout I saw a naked male in the women’s locker room,’ she said.
‘I immediately went back into the shower, terrified, and hid behind their flimsy excuse for a curtain until he was gone.’
Philips, who went on to discuss the area’s transgender policies, said she was haunted by the thought of her five-year-old sister, who she brings to the gym in the summer, encountering the same situation.
Her voice quivering, she said: ‘This is the YMCA, where hundreds of children spend their summer afternoons in child care camps.
‘This is the YMCA where my little sister took gymnastics lessons.
‘The locker room was supposed to be her safe haven to gossip with her friends, and shower and change.’
Rebecca Philips, 17, addressed the Santee City Council on Wednesday night
She urged them to change their policy on transgender women using whichever facilities they chose, saying it was indecent and ‘obscene’
Philips came across the transgender woman in the changing room of the YMCA in Santee, California – a city suburb of San Diego
Philips says staff told her the trans woman was perfectly entitled to be in the changing rooms, and that only those on the sex offender’s registry were banned from entering.
Women’s facilities – changing rooms, shelters, prisons – can be used by anyone in California thanks to a state law saying people must be allowed to use facilities which align with their gender identity.
And in May 2022 three Democrat supervisors for San Diego County decided to redefine the word ‘woman’ to include trans people.
Nathan Fletcher, Terra Lawson-Remer and Nora Vargas all approved the measure. The two Republicans serving as supervisors voted against the bill.
Philips told the council she was horrified by the experience.
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher was one of three to vote to approve the May 2022 bill which said anyone who defines themselves as female can use the facilities of their choice.
Terra Lawson-Remer (left) and Nora Vargas (right), both San Diego County supervisors, also voted to approve the bill
Philips said that the YMCA management, asked about their transgender policy, told her ‘the man I saw was indeed allowed to shower wherever he pleased’.
She added: ‘A grown male can shower alongside a teenage girl at your YMCA, here in Santee.’
Philips said she was dismayed at the response from the YMCA staff.
‘I was made to feel as if I had done something wrong,’ she said.
‘The indecent exposure of a male to a female minor was an inconvenience to them.’
Philips said her father, who complained, was contacted by Teri Maas, the Association Director of Membership Experience at YMCA of San Diego County.
Teri Maas, the Association Director of Membership Experience at YMCA of San Diego County, rang Philips’ father to reassure him his daughter was never at risk
‘She informed my dad that I was not in any danger,’ Philips said. ‘That I was safe.’
But, she added: ‘Could you knowingly send an underage girl into a room with a naked male and say she was safe? Or it was right?’
The YMCA said in a statement: ‘We are aware of a situation involving two members in the locker room of the Santee YMCA earlier this month. The comfort and safety of all our members is our highest priority.
‘As a community focused organization, we strive to meet the needs of all individuals. We recognize that birth and gender identity are sensitive subjects. We rely on subject matter experts, laws, and guidelines established by the State of California to ensure our policies are welcoming and respectful for all community members.’
They said they were now reviewing their procedures, in light of Philips’ complaint.
‘As part of this commitment to ensure all individuals feel comfortable, we are reviewing lock room floorplans across all facilities within our association,’ they said.
‘Our goal is to ensure that everyone has access to additional privacy if desired and needed.’
Trans women using female changing facilities – and entering some single-sex sports – has proven a political flashpoint in recent years.
Critics say trans women who still have male private parts should not be allowed into spaces where women may be undressed or vulnerable.
Supporters say only a tiny minority of trans women are sex offenders, and that banning all trans women from accessing female spaces persecutes the blameless majority.
