In Los Angeles, a heated dispute at a Beverly Hills gym has brought renewed attention to the complex issue of transgender access to women’s-only spaces. The incident involves Alexis Black, a transgender woman who insists she is fully entitled to use the women’s locker room at her gym.
According to sources, the altercation began when singer-songwriter Tish Hyman accused Black of exposing herself and harassing women in the locker room — claims Black strongly denies. Black says she was fully covered at the time and that several women in the room comforted her after Hyman’s aggressive approach.
Black explained that she began hormone transition earlier this year, completed a legal name change, and is listed as “female” on her identification and gym registration. She emphasized that forcing her into a male or a separate “trans-only” locker room would be discriminatory. One of her key points: “You’re not going to put a trans woman with a trans man just because we’re both trans — that seems like a whole new envelope of discrimination.”
Hyman, meanwhile, told social-media followers that she felt “naked in front of a man without my permission” while in the women’s changing area, and claimed gym staff removed her membership after she confronted the situation.
The gym — recently acquired by a new operator — has not publicly commented on the case. However, the controversy has already sparked wider debate about how gyms and other public facilities should handle transgender access, the boundaries of privacy and safety for cisgender women, and whether specialized accommodations like gender-neutral changing rooms are needed.
The situation in California carries legal weight: state law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations, including access to restrooms and locker rooms. On one side are voices calling for absolute access for transgender women in women’s spaces; on the other are concerns from some women about changing room privacy and comfort. The LA incident reflects both sides of that tension.
As the story develops, what remains clear is that Alexis Black is standing firm on her identity and rights — and the gym industry may face growing pressure to clarify or revise its policies about gendered spaces.
