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Julie Jaman: Woman, 80, BANNED from YMCA after she complained about trans employee in ladies changing room watching 'little girls change'

Julie Jaman insisted that the facility must put up warning signs that say changing rooms are accessible to trans people too

PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON: An elderly woman was banned from a YMCA pool after she demanded that a transgender employee leave the women's locker room. Julie Jaman, 80, was at the Mountain View pool in the City of Port Townsend when the incident took place. She found that the trans worker, Clementine Adams, was in the changing room while she was taking a shower. Jaman claimed that she "heard a man's voice" inside the room.

"I saw a man in a woman's bathing suit watching maybe four or five little girls pulling down their suits in order to use the toilet," Jaman told KIRO. "I asked if he had a penis and he said it was none of my business. I told that man to 'get out right now!'" Jaman said that when she informed another staffer at the pool, she was told by YMCA aquatics manager Rowen DeLuna, "You're discriminating and you can't use the pool anymore and I'm calling the police." DeLuna called law enforcement and she "banned her from the pool forever", Jaman claimed. "She didn't ask me what the problem was if I was okay, nothing about me," Jaman said. "It's as if she was just waiting to pounce on me. It was just stunning."

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The Daily Mail reported that the Port Townsend Police Department called after the July 26 incident, and an incident report was created. The report described Jaman having "an emotional response to a strange male being in the bathroom" near young girls. Notes from the police said that the YMCA claimed Jaman was "screaming" at an employee in the locker room, and "refusing to leave."

Who is Julie Jaman?

Not much is known about Jaman except that she had been a regular for 35 years at the Mountain View pool in the City of Port Townsend, Washington state. Bosses at the facility said that Jaman was banned due to a series of incidents where she "violated the facility's code of conduct", and that the decision was not based on this one particular incident. 

"Julie Jaman was permanently suspended from the Mountain View Pool due to her repeatedly violating our Code of Conduct, specifically, using disrespectful words or gestures toward YMCA staff or others; abusive, harassing and/or obscene language or gestures toward YMCA staff or others," Erin Hawkins, communications manager for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, told Fox News. 

Jaman, on the other hand, said that she was uncomfortable being naked and showering in the presence of a person who was born a male. She insisted that the facility must put up warning signs that say changing rooms are accessible to trans people too. 

Jaman said that she spoke with Olympic Peninsula YMCA CEO Wendy Bart, and told her about putting up the warning signs. "She told me that I was being discriminatory and not following the YMCA principles and values. I told her I respect all human beings, and I'm not following any ideology," Jaman said. 

"I told her there were no signs posted to give women warning," she added. "I was told there were Pride posters posted all over and that it was assumed that was adequate to inform women what to expect. That's fine with me, except that they do not provide alternatives for women who choose not to be undressing in front of men." She further said, "Our pool is a very old pool. We just have two shower rooms, dressing rooms, one for men, one for women."

According to Bart, Jaman told Adams during the argument, "You're going to stick your f*****g penis in those little girls." Jaman denied making such a remark. "I am an 80-year-old woman and I do not talk like that," she said to The Distance. A protest was held outside the facility after Jaman was banned, attended by both supporters of Jaman and trans activists.

Adams has yet to undergo gender reassignment surgery and has launched a GoFundMe to raise funds. "Hi, my name is Clementine. I’m a college student, and I plan on majoring in Elementary Education! Being trans isn’t about changing, it’s about living my truth. In part of doing so, I'm seeking gender affirmative surgeries," Adams wrote on the page, adding, "Specifically, I need assistance funding Feminizing Laryngoplasty(Vocal Surgery) and Sexual Reassignment Surgery(often called bottom surgery). I don’t have a long list of procedures I want to pursue right now, not that there’s anything wrong with doing so. But I genuinely believe I need these two particular procedures to feel like I’m able to be- myself. Especially the Vocal Surgery. Talking is my way of communicating with the world, and right now that form of communication is actively fighting against me by marking me masculine."

Adams further said, "If I manage to stretch beyond my goal for this fundraiser, I'll put any extra funds that don't go towards this surgery back into the trans community. Whether to other funds like this or to charity organizations. Something I've been working towards in a mentoring program I'm a part of is increasing awareness for young students about transgender people and understanding those complicated ideas. In that way, I want to be visible and I want to inspire others. The power to make change lies in our own hands." At the time this article was written, $3,613 USD had been raised for the $5,000 goal.