New Jersey spa must allow trans-identifying males into women-only nude spaces: judge

November 26, 2025

A Superior Court judge in New Jersey has ordered a day spa to allow male customers who identify as the opposite sex to access female-only areas where women are required to be nude.

The Christian Post reports that Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Sarlo signed a consent order in which the King Spa in Bergen County agrees to implement policies based on “sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”

The order, which was signed in August but only recently has received public attention, requires that the company policy’s definition of gender identity refers to “a person’s internal sense of being male, female or any other gender, regardless of physical characteristics or appearance.”

The consent order states: “It is unlawful and violates company policy to discriminate in any way against a client because of the client’s actual or perceived gender identity. [E]ach person has a gender identity, which may or may not correspond to the sex that person was assigned at birth.”

Alexandra “Allie” Goebert, a 35-year-old male who identifies as female, filed a discrimination lawsuit after visiting King Spa in 2022.

When Goebert visited the spa, he was given a wristband that granted him access to the men’s locker room, prompting him to complain to staff that he identified as a woman.

After a staff member granted Goebert access to the women’s area, an attendant noticed that the trans-identifying male had not undergone sex-change surgery and notified a manager.

When that manager told Goebert that he would need to use the men’s locker room or wear a bathing suit to use the women’s locker facilities, Goebert said he felt discriminated against and filed a lawsuit.

Following the judge’s order, the spa’s website reflected the policy change, stating: “You may use the locker room that matches the gender identity on your government- or state-issued photo ID.”

Photo: top, Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Drake