After she was denied medical care for a body part she didn’t even have, a transgender woman claimed she was discriminated against by a gynaecologist.
The matter grew serious as litigation was initiated and now has the world divided in opinion.
Jessica Yaniv—now known as Jessica Simpson—is a Canadian transgender activist who drew national attention in 2018 after filing multiple human rights complaints against beauticians who declined to perform hair removal services on her genital area.
Simpson had requested a Brazilian wax, a procedure typically performed on female anatomy. However, since she still has male genitalia, the service would fall under a “brozilian” or “manzilian”—a treatment that often requires different training and techniques.
At 37, Simpson accused five independent estheticians of discrimination after they refused the service, seeking up to $15,000 in damages from each.
“None of these providers had any issue until I mentioned I was transgender,” Simpson told the court, according to The Telegraph.
Simpson vs. Beauticians
In 2019, Jessica Simpson, a transgender woman, lost a high-profile discrimination case in Canada and was ordered to pay $2,000 in damages to each of the three estheticians who testified during the hearings.
The tribunal found that Simpson had demonstrated “animus toward certain racial, religious, and cultural groups.”
The estheticians, all women from minority backgrounds, operated out of their homes and were not trained to perform waxing services on male anatomy. Following Simpson’s complaints, some were forced to close their businesses.
These estheticians had only offered Brazilian waxing services for female clients and lacked both the training and equipment required to service male genitalia.
When asked by a Calgary Herald reporter whether she felt remorse over the businesses shutting down, Simpson replied, “No, why should I feel bad? The one who was the victim here was me. The way that I see it, all women should receive the same service.”
Simpson vs. Other Institutions
In the years that followed, Simpson—referred to as a “prolific litigant” by a BC Supreme Court Justice—filed additional complaints against a variety of institutions, including beauty pageants, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial health authorities, and even a local news outlet.
Simpson vs. gynecologist
Despite her many charges, including possession of a prohibited weapon, mischief, assault, and using sexualized language in communications with underage girls, Simpson – who’s several times been accused of racism – appears to be bolstered by the public scrutiny.
Most recently, she decided to go after a gynecologist’s office that allegedly told her “we don’t serve transgender patients.”
In a now deleted Instagram post, Simpson said she was “shocked.. and confused… and hurt.”
“Are they allowed to do that, legally? Isn’t that against the college practices,” she tweeted, tagging the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC), the group that regulates medicine in the province.
Per the Daily Mail, she then shared with her followers: “Gynaecologists form a part of the multidisciplinary team who engage with transgender and non‐binary patients, either as part of the transition stage performing surgery or managing pre‐ or post‐transition gynaecological problems.”
And though she later claimed the CPSBC agreed she was discriminated against, there have been no updates since she launched the complaint in 2019.
What people are saying
“Having plastic surgery and taking artificial hormones doesn’t magically turn a male into a female. Nor does it automatically mean all OBGYN’s would be qualified to treat a man who imitates being a woman,” Kirralie Smith told Binary, a group that “pushes against harmful gender theory and the aggressive ideological agenda that comes with it.”
Smith continued, “[Simpson] needs to see a transgender specialist, not a doctor who specialises in women’s health care.”
Ricky Gervais, one of the world’s funniest and most controversial comedians also commented on Simpson’s claims: “It’s disgusting that a qualified gynaecologist can refuse to check a lady’s cock for ovarian cancer. What if her bollocks are pregnant? She could lose the baby. I’m outraged,” he tweeted.
Gervais later shared on X: “I was going to dress up as something weird and creepy for my Halloween party, but I’m bucking the trend this year and I’m going as brave female activist Jessica Yaniv. This also means I don’t have to wax my big old hairy balls.” woman
Trans healthcare
Medical professionals are increasingly speaking out about the critical differences between natal female anatomy and structurally different neo-vaginas – vaginas created through gender-affirming surgery – especially when it comes to routine healthcare.
Experts emphasize that “anyone with a cervix, vagina, uterus, ovaries, or fallopian tubes requires regular gynecological care, regardless of their gender identity.”
This means individuals assigned male at birth typically do not require the same type of gynecologic care as cisgender women or transgender men. According to medical guidance, transgender women would only need gynecologic care related to a vulva or neovagina after undergoing gender-affirming genital surgery.
At the time of Simpson’s complaint, she had not undergone such surgical procedures.
