Local
Woman claims anti-gender discrimination at Va. spa
Riya Suising said Spa World manager asked her to leave because she thought she was a man
Riya Suising (Photo courtesy of Riya Suising)
A California woman has claimed a manager of a popular Fairfax County spa asked her to leave because she thought she was a man.
The Fairfax Times first reported earlier on Friday that Riya Suising of Palo Alto, Calif., decided to visit Spa World in Centreville last November while she was on a business trip in the D.C. area. She told the Washington Blade she was in a female bathing pool when a manager approached her, said she was a man and asked her to leave.
“I have slightly wider shoulders and I think that’s what she commented on,” Suising said, noting she is a marathon runner with an athletic build. “I think that’s how other customers saw me as well.”
Suising said the manager showed her a letter “written and signed” by five other customers who were in the spa at the same time she was there. She added she put her clothes on and went into her office where she showed her identification that contained a female gender marker.
“That didn’t satisfy her,” Suising said. “She said she’s very sorry, she has to do that to take care of her other customers.”
Suising said she tried to file a complaint with the Virginia Human Rights Council in December, but was unable to do so because the commonwealth’s non-discrimination law does not include gender identity and expression. She said a second complaint that claims discrimination because of ethnicity and sex is pending.
Suising also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in January.
Spa World owner Sang Lee confirmed in his Feb.16 response to it that management “asked the customer to leave the facility, for the safety and the comfort of the other customers, and also to promote a healthy reputation for our business.”
“It is our policy not to accept any kinds of abnormal sexual oriented customers to our facility such as homosexuals, or transgender,” he wrote. “We strongly enforce this policy for the safety and the comfort for (sic.) our customers, and also to promote a healthy reputation for our business. Spa World accepts family-oriented customers many times with young children. Also, for the safety and the comfort for young children at Spa World, we strongly forbid any abnormal sexual behaviors and orientation in our facility.”
Lee acknowledged “the controversial issue of homosexuality and transgender,” but reaffirmed Spa World’s policy “to not accept them.”
“We did our best to communicate to the customer in proper manner,” he wrote. “Once again, we feel sorry about this incident. I hope the customer can understand our position.”
Spa World (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Riea Choi of Spa World denied Suising’s allegations in a brief interview with the Blade on Friday afternoon.
“We don’t discriminate against people,” she said. “The [Fairfax Times] article is wrong.”
The spa categorized Lee’s statements to the Better Business Bureau as “a communications error” in a subsequent post to its Facebook page.
“What was meant to be the point of that letter was, SpaWorld does not condone of homosexual as well as heterosexual misconduct and actions,” it reads. “We do not care about the sexual orientation of any customers; we simply ask that you keep to yourselves and refrain from having sex in a public bathroom.”
Suising said she would like to see Spa World change their policy.
“If they do that I would love to go back again and be a good customer and spend my money there if they welcome me,” she said.
Equality Virginia also urged Spa World to change its policy in an e-mail to supporters.
Milton, Del., will host its Pride Fest this Saturday with the theme “Small Town, Big Heart.” The town’s population of just over 3,000 is in its sixth year hosting Pride.
The event is hosted by Sussex Pride and Milton Theatre and will take place from 4-8 p.m. in the area surrounding the theater. Admission is pay-what-you-can and proceeds will support the Milton Theatre’s education wing campaign, an initiative dedicated to expanding arts education and creating spaces for the next generation of performers and artists.
The musical act schedule includes Goldstar at 4 p.m., Magnolia Applebottom and Friends at 5:30 p.m., and Mama’s Blacksheep at 6:45 p.m. There will be vendors, food trucks, and a Kids Fest with an inflatable obstacle course.
“In our little corner of the world, LOVE leads the way! Milton Pride 2025 is a celebration for EVERYONE — neighbors, families, allies, and friends — because acceptance, kindness, and community belong to us all,” Milton Theatre’s website reads. “Whether you’re here to cheer, learn, or simply feel the joy … you’re welcome exactly as you are. Let’s come together and celebrate Milton, a SMALL TOWN … with a BIG HEART!”
District of Columbia
Drive with Pride in D.C.
A new Pride-themed license plate is now available in the District, with proceeds directly benefiting local LGBTQ organizations.
Just in time for Pride month, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has partnered with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to create a special “Pride Lives Here” license plate.
The plate, which was initially unveiled in February, has a one-time $25 application fee and a $20 annual display fee. Both fees will go directly to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Affairs Fund.
The MOLGBTQA Fund provides $1,000,000 annually to 25,000 residents through its grant program, funding a slew of LGBTQ organizations in the DMV area — including Capital Pride Alliance, Whitman-Walker, the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Community, and the Washington Blade Foundation.
The license plate features an inclusive rainbow flag wrapping around the license numbers, with silver stars in the background — a tribute to both D.C.’s robust queer community and the resilience the LGBTQ community has shown.
The “Pride Lives Here” plate is one of only 13 specialty plates offered in the District, and the only one whose fees go directly to the LGBTQ community.
To apply for a Pride plate, visit the DC DMV’s website at https://dmv.dc.gov/
The nation’s capital welcomed WorldPride this past weekend, a massive celebration that usually takes place in a different city every two years.
The Saturday parade attracted hundreds of thousands of people from around the world and the country. The state of Delaware, a few hours drive from D.C., saw participants in the parade, with CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBTQ community center in Rehoboth Beach, hosting a bus day trip.
Hope Vella sits on the board of directors and marched with CAMP Rehoboth. Vella said that although the parade took a long time to start and the temperature was hot, she was “on a cloud” from being there.
“It didn’t matter to me how long it took to start. With the current changes that are in place regarding diversity and inclusion, I wanted my face there,” Vella said. “My life is an intersection. I am a Black woman. I am a lesbian, and I have a disability. All of these things are trying to be erased … I didn’t care how long it took. I didn’t care how far it was going to be. I was going to finish that parade. I didn’t care how hot it was.”
The nearly two mile parade route didn’t feel as long because everyone was so happy interacting with the crowd, Vella said. The group gave out beads, buttons, and pins to parade watchers.
“The World Pride celebration gave me hope because so many people came out. And the joy and the love that was between us … That gave me hope,” Vella said.
Vella said that people with disabilities are often overlooked. More than one in four Americans have disabilities, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vella said it was important for her “to be out there and to be seen in my wholeness as a Black woman, as a lesbian, as a woman with a disability and to not be hiding. I want our society to understand that we exist in LGBTQ+ spaces also.”
Retired Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith is involved with CAMP Rehoboth and marched with a coalition of LGBTQ military members. Smith said they were walking to give transgender military members visibility and to remind people why they are serving.
“When we are not visible, what is allowed to take our place is stereotypes,” Smith said. “And so without visibility, people think all veterans are conservative and perhaps not open to full equality. Without visibility, they might think a small state with a farming background may be a place that’s unwelcoming, but when you actually meet the people who are from those places, it sets aside those stereotypes and the real authenticity is allowed to come forward.”
During the parade, Smith said she saw trans military members in the parade make eye contact or fist bump with transgender people in the crowd.
“They were seen. Both sides were seen during that parade and I just felt privileged to be able to witness that,” Smith said.
Smith said Delaware is a state that is about freedom and equality and is the first state for a reason. The LGBTQ community is engrained as part of life in the Rehoboth and Lewes areas.
“What pride means to me is that we must always be doing what is necessary to maintain our dignity as a community,” Smith said. “We can’t let what people with negative messaging might be tossing our way impact us and the celebration of Pride. I don’t see it as being self-promoting. I see it as an act of dignity and strength.”
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