San Francisco YMCA updates locker room rules amid transgender dispute

The Stonestown Family YMCA in San Francisco has overhauled its locker room guidelines following complaints from members about a transgender woman identified in reports only as “Sammy.”

The facility’s updated visiting guidelines, now posted on the YMCA of Greater San Francisco’s website under a banner reading “WE’VE UPDATED our locker room policy,” state that nudity must be “discreet, limited, and brief” and is “permitted only while actively showering.” The revised rules also instruct members to “maintain appropriate distance from others, be mindful of personal space during times of undress, and demonstrate courtesy at all times,” and specify that hair dryers are to be used for “drying head hair only.”

The Daily Mail, which first reported the controversy Sunday, said “Sammy” had been a regular at the gym for approximately two years and that complaints about her conduct in the women’s locker room prompted the policy change. 

Susan Pete, a 59-year-old member, told the Daily Mail that the new rules appeared to be directed at patrons who had drawn complaints — though the YMCA made no such statement publicly. According to the Daily Mail, dozens of members signed a petition seeking to require the patron to use a designated gender-neutral changing space, and protesters demonstrated outside the Stonestown location and at least one other Bay Area YMCA.

The Stonestown YMCA’s current guidelines continue to state that “members and guests may use the locker of their gender identity,” language that remains unchanged in the updated policy.