Rebecca Philips Did Not See a Penis at the YMCA

More details have emerged after Christynne Lili Wrene Wood, the trans women at the heart of protests over trans inclusive politices the Santee YMCA, told the full story of the locker room encounter.

by Evan Urquhart

A 66-year-old trans woman, a regular at the Santee YMCA in San Diego County, California, has corrected the record after the campaign by 17-year-old Rebecca Philips to force her out of the women’s locker room. Philips claims she was frightened and hid behind the curtain after glimpsing Christynne Lili Wrene Wood from behind. Her statements of discomfort at sharing a locker room with a trans woman have ignited a fresh round of of anti-trans hysteria on the right, with many oulets falsely claiming Phillips saw male genitalia.

It is impossible for Philips to have seen any such thing, according to Wood (who came forward and gave interviews to both the Times of San Diego and a local ABC affiliate), because she’s had gender confirmation surgery:

screenshot from the Times of San Diego

The story Wood tells is otherwise similar to the one told by Philips. After doing a regular water aerobics session with her friends, Wood says she showered in a private stall, said goodbye to her friends, and never even saw the 17-year-old.

screenshot from the Times of San Diego

Wood says she had no idea anything was amiss until one of her friends from the pool called her and shared the now viral video of Philips compaining about trans inclusive laws to the Santee City Council. None of this contradicts Philips’ accounts, which never alleged any wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior on the part of Wood. Philips also never directly claimed to have seen a penis, although her repeated references to having seen a “naked man,” in reference to Wood, gave rise to the widespread misperception that Philips saw male genitalia when she did not.