Blue state conundrum creates lose-lose situation for businesses

After a tense situation exploded at a gym in Los Angeles, businesses may be forced into deciding whether they operate in states where laws force them to allow men in women's spaces or not.

LA-based singer-songwriter Tish Hyman was using the women's locker room at EoS Fitness (formerly Gold's Gym) when a female-presenting biological male allegedly followed her inside, stared at her while she was naked, and called her a "bitch" in a deep voice.

Hyman, who identifies as a lesbian and emphasized she is not transphobic, confronted the individual, complained to staff about the repeated invasions of women's spaces, and voiced her outrage to other patrons. Ultimately, the gym, which was acquired just weeks ago by EoS, terminated Hyman's membership because of her complaints, sparking viral backlash and calls for a boycott of both Gold's Gym and EoS Fitness. 

California state law

However, under California law, "gender" encompasses a person's gender identity and gender expression, which includes their appearance and behavior related to gender, regardless of the sex assigned at birth. This definition is part of broader protections against discrimination based on gender identity and expression under laws like the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Additionally, California's Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers based on protected characteristics, including gender identity and expression, ensuring transgender individuals can access public accommodations without bias. This law mandates equal treatment in places like restaurants, stores, and hotels, allowing transgender people to use facilities and receive services consistent with their gender identity.

Effectively, neither Gold's Gym nor EoS Fitness, nor any other business within the state, can disallow transgender-identifying persons from using any gender-specific facility, notwithstanding calls for boycotts that can deteriorate a company's profits. 

According to LGBTmap.org, 22 states, one U.S. territory and the District of Columbia have laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Businesses must decide 

Businesses now face a tough operational decision: Do they remain in states like these that force their company's policies to allow anyone to use any facility, facing public backlash and boycotts? Or do they refrain from operations in these states to preserve their brand, possibly broadening their customer base in the remaining states with those who believe that women's facilities should only be for biological women. 

Depending on the severity of the boycott, it can be quite costly for a company. 

Bud Light, one of the most emblematically American companies, forced many customers to famously abandon the brand in droves after they used a female-presenting biological male, Dylan Mulvaney, in a video promoting the beer brand during NCAA basketball's March Madness. The move cost its parent company, Anheiser-Busch InBev roughly $1.4 billion. 

Blue states get more radical, but may lose in the end

The videos of Hyman's incident reached viral status on social media on Monday night, the eve of California's election that will decide if the state will pass Proposition 50, which is a politicized effort to gerrymander California's congressional lines to favor Democrats. 

If passed, Prop 50 will take the responsibility of establishing districts away from the state's so-called bipartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission and hand it over to the super-blue State Legislature. 

The radical nature of California's politics could drive voters away from their traditionally blue-voting ways. Hyman followed up her gym experience videos with a longer one, admitting that she voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election "because she's black." However, in light of her recent controversy, she said, "I'm not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat either. I'm a woman. I do music. I don't do politics."

"I guess that's a lesson in itself. We've got to start paying attention to politics, y'all, because the things we've been voting for in my 20s or 30s are kicking me in the ass because I paid no attention to anything. I'm not telling anyone to vote for Republicans or Democrats because I'm neither, I'm just a woman standing up for women's rights."