When Anita took her six-year-old daughter to a Los Angeles Korean spa last year, she went with an open mind and a desire to experience a different culture.
But she never expected to encounter a person with a beard and an exposed penis in the women-only hot tub.
She was so shocked to see what appeared to be a naked man confidently joining the women's space, which included several small children, that she reported the incident to police, feeling her young daughter had been a victim of indecent exposure.
Last week Anita, who asked DailyMail.com to obscure her identity in fear of being 'canceled' and losing her job, was dismayed to come across a viral video alleging a similar incident at the spa.
The video sparked violent protests outside Wi Spa in Los Angeles last weekend - one side believing transgender rights were being threatened, the other wanting to protect the innocence of their children and the safety of women's private spaces.
Scroll down for video - 2457271 Mom speaks out over 'person with penis' in LA spa hot tub
Los Angeles mother, 'Anita,' who asked to obscure her identity, described her uncomfortable experience visiting Wi Spa in Los Angeles with her young daughter last January, in an interview with DailyMail.com
The Koreatown spa made headlines last week after a viral video showed a woman complaining about a transgender woman exposing their penis in a women-only steam room
Anita, a registered Democrat, said she's an LGBTQ supporter but still wants to protect her six-year-old daughter's innocence
Anita, a millennial daughter of Latin immigrants, says she is a Democrat voter and a supporter of the queer community, but felt compelled to speak out about the thorny issue in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.
'I read about the spa in a magazine, the LA Parent, and I'd driven past it before late at night and it almost looks like a nightclub, with cars lined up waiting to get in,' she said.
'It's in Korea Town and is super-Korean. There's entire families – moms, dads, two kids, and they're just hanging out at all hours. It just seemed like a really cool thing to try with my daughter.'
Anita described her January 2020 visit to the spa, which has a clothed section for both sexes, and separate sections for men and women with locker rooms, hot tubs, massage, relaxation and pampering rooms where patrons are traditionally unclothed.
'When I walked into the women's section everyone was naked,' she said.
'I wasn't raised to be super comfortable being naked around others. But I'm from LA and it's kind of hip to participate in authentic cultural things.
'I didn't want my daughter to feel uncomfortable and I saw a lot of little Korean girls naked with their grandmas and their moms, it was really cute actually. I was like, wow this is something that I didn't know existed, this is awesome.'
Anita and her daughter put on face masks, ate snacks and hung out in the sauna. Then the little girl asked to swim in the hot tub.
'We were in there with five or six other women. She was swimming and splashing at me and stuff,' she said.
'Then these three people came and sat down on the edge of the hot tub. It was two women and what appeared 100% to be a man.
Tense protests erupted Saturday outside the California spa with one side believing transgender rights were being threatened, while the other wanting to protect the innocence of their children and the safety of women's private spaces
The protests came after a video was posted to Instagram by an account named Cubana Angel (left) which shows the furious woman complaining to a spa staff member (right) about the alleged exposure
'All three people were white. The two girls had tattoos and colored hair. I don't like the whole race-baiting thing, but I would categorize them as the privileged, white, progressive-type people.
'They came in with this air of entitlement. It was almost an aggressive attitude.
'I'm trying really hard not to get in trouble calling the person with a penis a male, but the 'guy' was this skinny white guy with scraggly long hair and a beard. He had a five o'clock shadow on him, and his penis and scrotum hanging out.
'The person I saw seemed like an activist… Almost enjoying everyone around them being uncomfortable.
'The other Korean women in the hot tub were looking at each other like 'what the f**k?' We all suddenly were quietly communicating with our eyes.
'[The Korean women] were motioning at my daughter, she was giggling and splashing, she hadn't noticed.
'All around the locker room you see all the women suddenly whispering and this tense feeling.
'I saw old ladies poking out from behind the shower stall, holding their towels up, looking horrified. Nobody says anything. All the women are in shock but also don't want to say anything.
'I was in there for about a minute, then I said 'okay, honey, time to come out.'
'The whole time I was blocking my daughter's view of the penis, and one of the other Korean women maneuvered herself to block my daughter's view. Thankfully
