Two women were removed as alumnae of their sorority after pushing for the sorority to allow only biological women as members.
Patsy Levang and Cheryl Tuck-Smith were expelled from Kappa Kappa Gamma after they supported and fundraised for a lawsuit to remove Artemis Langford, a trans-identifying biological male as a member. The two women had been affiliated with the sorority for 50 years before they were expelled. Levang had previously been a Kappa Kappa Gamma National Foundation president.
&#8220;My heart was saddened when the current six council members voted me out. However, I will not be quiet about the truth,&#8221; Levang <a href="https://www.iwf.org/2023/11/09/kappa-kappa-gamma-sorority-retaliates-against-alumnae-for-standing-up-for-women-revokes-lifetime-membership-after-50-years-of-sisterhood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
Tuck-Smith said she was &#8220;hurt&#8221; by the termination but also &#8220;disturbed&#8221; that the sorority has become &#8220;a political tool rather than an organization that promotes women.&#8221;
“My dismissal simply spurs me on to educate others about the dangers of DEI which in reality does not support diversity, equity and inclusion,” Tuck-Smith said.
The women&#8217;s expulsion was determined by national leadership and is effective immediately, according to the Independent Women&#8217;s Forum, which released a press release about the matter last week.
Allie Coghan, a Kappa Kappa Gamma alumna and a plaintiff in the lawsuit that sought to oust the trans-identifying male member, called the sorority&#8217;s decision &#8220;disappointing.&#8221;
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&#8220;It was really disappointing to hear that they&#8217;re being dismissed because this is retaliation against women, and it&#8217;s supposed to be an organization meant for women,&#8221; Coghan <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/women-ousted-sorority-backing-lawsuit-remove-transgender-member" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News.
&#8220;So to hear that they didn&#8217;t want to see these brave women sticking up for us and supporting us, then, I mean, where are we supposed to go? Where are women supposed to go if a women&#8217;s organization isn&#8217;t going to stick up for itself?&#8221; she added.
The sorority commented on the expulsion but did not provide additional information about the decision.
&#8220;We do not share information publicly about policy violations that may result in disciplinary action,&#8221; Kappa Kappa Gamma said in a statement to Fox News.
Last September, Kappa Kappa Gamma allowed 21-year-old Langford, a biological man who identifies as a woman, to join the sorority&#8217;s University of Wyoming chapter.
This prompted a lawsuit from six female members of the school&#8217;s sorority chapter.
The women sued the national organization in March, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/university-students-suing-sorority-allowing-trans-member-ordered-reveal-names" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alleging</a> that Langford had &#8220;been voyeuristically peeping on them while they were in intimate situations, and, in at least one occasion, had a visible erection while doing so.&#8221;
However, a federal judge dismissed the case, and the case is now before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Artemis Langford, a transgender women, returns to the University of Wyoming campus

Sorority Terminates Membership Of Two Alumnae After They Supported Lawsuit To Boot Trans-Identifying Member

American Universities

College

Gender

Social Issues

sorority

Transgender

U.S.

Women

Wyoming

A lawsuit seeking to remove a man from membership of a sorority at a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wyoming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wyoming</a> university has been dismissed by a federal judge, who said that the court will not define the word “woman.”
The lawsuit was brought by members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at the University of Wyoming, who sued the sorority and Artemis Langford, a biological <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">male who identifies as a woman</a> who joined the sorority. Langford has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/women-file-lawsuit-against-sorority-after-it-accepts-man-who-allegedly-watches-them-while-visibly-aroused" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been accused </a>by girls in the sorority of making inappropriate comments and watching girls shower and change.
&#8220;The University of Wyoming chapter voted to admit — and, more broadly, a sorority of hundreds of thousands approved — Langford. With its inquiry beginning and ending there, the Court will not define ‘woman’ today. The delegate of a private, voluntary organization interpreted ‘woman,’ otherwise undefined in the nonprofit&#8217;s bylaws, expansively; this Judge may not invade Kappa Kappa Gamma&#8217;s freedom of expressive association and inject the circumscribed definition Plaintiffs urge,&#8221; U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson, a Reagan appointee, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wyd.63248/gov.uscourts.wyd.63248.31.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a decision released last week. 
In their lawsuit against Langford, six sorority members list a number of alleged instances where they say he made them uncomfortable and say that he has not undergone any sex-change procedures.
One alleged incident involved Langford having a visible erection after seeing one woman changing her shirt. The suit stated that Langford stood with “his hands over his genitals” and later asked the woman about her “romantic attachments.”
&#8220;Langford states that he is transgender and that he self-identifies as a woman. His behavior, however, does not reflect a man living as a woman let alone a man attempting to ‘consistently live’ as a woman,&#8221; the girls said. &#8220;Other than occasionally wearing women&#8217;s clothing, Langford makes little effort to resemble a woman. He has not undergone treatments to create a more feminine appearance, such as female hormones, feminization surgery, or laser hair removal.&#8221;
Rachel Berkness, the lawyer who represented Langford, called the claims against him “baseless.” 
“The allegations against Ms. Langford should never have made it into a legal filing. They are nothing more than cruel rumors that mirror exactly the type of rumors used to vilify and dehumanize members of the LGBTQIA+ community for generations. And they are baseless,” Berkness <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/judge-dismisses-suit-sorority-sisters-sought-block-trans-woman-joining-rcna102261#:~:text=Langford%27s%20attorney%2C%20Rachel%20Berkness%2C%20welcomed,the%20LGBTQIA%2B%20community%20for%20generations." target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Associated Press.
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Cassie Craven, a lawyer for the sorority sisters who sued Langford, said that it was important to establish protections for women. 
“Women have a biological reality that deserves to be protected and recognized and we will continue to fight for that right just as women suffragists for decades have been told that their bodies, opinions, and safety doesn’t matter,” she said.

US-POLITICS-WYOMING-LGBTQ-DISCRIMINATION

Lawsuit Against Man Who Joined Wyoming Sorority Dismissed By Federal Judge

Courts

Education

A male who identifies as non-binary was accepted into a New York college sorority only to be kicked out by the sorority&#8217;s national headquarters.
Fabián “Fa” Guzmán, 22, a student at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/28/nonbinary-student-kicked-out-of-chi-omega-sorority-by-national-hq/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he was accepted into the school&#8217;s Chi Omega chapter last fall and was a member of the sorority until this month.
In May, the Chi Omega national office <a href="https://19thnews.org/2023/06/nonbinary-sorority-member-chi-omega-voided/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began asking</a> questions about Guzmán&#8217;s membership status, and he had several phone calls and Zoom meetings with national leadership, Guzmán said.
Then in early June, the Chi Omega national office informed Guzmán it was revoking his sorority membership with no chance to appeal the decision, he said.
“The national organization threatened to revoke my membership if we went public with the story,” Guzmán <a href="https://www.change.org/p/reinstate-fa-guzmán-s-chi-omega-membership-and-chapter-s-recruitment-chair-position?source_location=topic_page" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The sorority headquarters appeared to indicate that the problem is not that he identifies as a gender other than his biological sex — the problem is that he does not identify as a woman.
“The selection criteria in the policy on membership includes ‘females and individuals identifying as women,’ which, by the chapter’s own understanding and your indication through the process, it is clear you did not meet the criteria at the time of joining,” the Chi Omega national office said in an email, according to 19th News.
“We are bound by our governing documents, and your membership must be voided,” the headquarters said.
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Guzmán claims that he does identify with &#8220;womanhood&#8221; despite identifying as non-binary.
&#8220;The criteria were not met due to my identity as a non-binary individual and my sex assigned at birth. Even though we asked them directly about the policy several times prior, and as a non-binary individual, I identify with women and womanhood,&#8221; Guzmán said.
Guzmán started a Change.org petition demanding Chi Omega National Headquarters reinstate his membership and his position as chapter recruitment chair.
He also wants a public apology from the sorority headquarters that &#8220;acknowledges and validates those gender identities, like non-binary and trans, that identify as a woman and womanhood regardless of their sex assigned at birth.&#8221;
Guzmán is also asking Chi Omega to consider changing the words of its membership policy to make it &#8220;inclusive&#8221; for people who identify as non-binary.
&#8220;Even though my identity has been invalidated by this organization that has meant so much to me, and I am extremely hurt, the love I share with my sisters and the support I have been getting from them reminds me what real sisterhood is about,&#8221; Guzmán said.
Guzmán is not the first biological male to attempt to join a college sorority.
Last year, University of Alabama student Grant Sikes tried to join a sorority on his campus but was <a href="https://www.outkick.com/biological-male-attempts-to-join-alabama-sorority-runs-into-problems/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turned down</a>.
In March, seven students at the University of Wyoming <a href="https://apnews.com/article/university-wyoming-sorority-transgender-lawsuit-390079ddd349f4fcbbd03aa8b2ec9927" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a lawsuit over their sorority accepting a trans-identifying man. They claimed the male sorority member sat in their common area and stared at them silently for hours, including while one woman was wearing just a towel.
In a reverse case, a woman who identifies as a man <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-northwestern-transgender-sorority-rush-met-20170121-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tried</a> to join a sorority at Northwestern, but no sorority offered her an acceptance.

Sorority Bid Day at George Washington University

Non-Binary Student Accepted Into New York Sorority, Then Booted By Headquarters

New York

nonbinary

Seven women filed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lawsuit">lawsuit</a> against the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) <a href="https://something.dailywire.com/topic/sorority">sorority</a> after the organization admitted a man who identifies as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender">transgender</a> to the University of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wyoming">Wyoming</a> (UW) chapter.
Artemis Langford, 21, joined KKG last fall. Reduxx <a href="https://reduxx.info/women-file-lawsuit-against-university-of-wyoming-sorority-over-admission-of-trans-identified-male-who-watches-them-undress/">reported</a> that Langford has yet to move into the sorority house, which houses up to 50 women, but that Langford has been a constant presence there and has made several women uncomfortable on various occasions.
“An adult human male does not become a woman just because he tells others that he has a female ‘gender identity’ and behaves in what he believes to be a stereotypically female manner,” the legal complaint states, according to Reduxx. The lawsuit was filed against the sorority and its council president, Mary Pat Rooney, on Monday in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming, the outlet noted.
“The Fraternity Council has betrayed the central purpose and mission of Kappa Kappa Gamma by conflating the experience of being a woman with the experience of men engaging in behavior generally associated with women,” the complaint continued according to Reduxx.
Langford is referred to under the pseudonym “Terry Smith” in the filing, which uses male pronouns to describe him. Various alleged incidents are referenced in the document, the outlet noted.
“One sorority member walked down the hall to take a shower, wearing only a towel … She felt an unsettling presence, turned, and saw Mr. Smith watching her silently,” the court document says, per Reduxx.
“Mr. Smith has, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings. Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap,” it continues.
At another point, the women referenced an alleged incident when Langford took photos during a slumber party event at the sorority house.
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“Smith repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether women were considering breast reductions and birth control,” the lawsuit reportedly states. 
Another alleged incident involved Langford having a visible erection after seeing one woman changing her shirt. The suit reportedly stated that Langford stood with “his hands over his genitals” and later asked the woman about her “romantic attachments.”
Langford was admitted into the sorority after the chapter leaders clarified their stance on inclusivity. 
“Kappa Kappa Gamma is a single-gender organization comprised of women and individuals who identify as women whose governing documents do not discriminate in membership selection except by requiring good scholarship and ethical character,” the KKG Guide For Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members (2021) <a href="https://www.kappakappagamma.org/globalassets/resources/general-resources/guide-for-supporting-our-lgbtqia-members2021.pdf">states</a>.
Langford spoke to local publication The Branding Iron about being admitted to the sorority during an interview last year. 
“I feel so glad to be in a place that I think not only shares my values, but to be in a sisterhood of awesome women that want to make history,” Langford said at the time. “They want to break the glass ceiling, trailblazing you know, and I certainly feel that as their first trans member, at least in the chapter in Wyoming history.”

Young woman with backpack walking in corridor

Women File Lawsuit Against Sorority After It Accepts Man Who Allegedly ‘Watches’ Them While Visibly Aroused

Women File Lawsuit Against Sorority After It Accepts Man Who Allegedly 'Watches' Them While Visibly Aroused

Lawsuit

Sororities at the University of Alabama, rejecting current political correctness, stuck together as they opposed a biological male attempting to join their groups.
University of Alabama student Grant Sikes stated he attempted to join the sororities but was unanimously rejected. According to Outkick, Sikes posted his quest on TikTok, accruing several million views, but the sororities dismissed the idea of a man joining their groups.
“Unfortunately, this chapter is closed,” Sikes complained on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChNP2kcOYap/">Instagram</a>. “This recruitment journey is over for me. Being dropped from my last house this morning during primary recruitment at the University of Alabama doesn’t come as a surprise considering out of the almost 20 chapters – I was dropped by every single one except 2 before day 1.”
“I’m hopeful of a future where everyone is welcomed for just being themselves – everywhere,” he preached. “If you are going through a hard time today, remember that life is too short to ponder on the things lost. Choose happiness &amp; always look for the positive things throughout life. Move on. See the good. See the bad. Hope for the best. Brave the worst.”
Sports commentator Clay Travis <a href="https://www.outkick.com/biological-male-attempts-to-join-alabama-sorority-runs-into-problems/">reacted</a> to the sororities standing firm: “Roll Tide. Good for them for standing up to this absurdity. Good for the women at the University of Alabama for the people who are advising them; for them being willing to stand up, to be called ‘transphobic’ or whatever you want to say. I can&#8217;t believe I have to say this: Men should not be able to be members of Alabama sororities.”
“And by the way, if you are a straight guy living in a sorority house, surrounded by smoking hot chicks, not the worst thing,” he quipped. “If you were a straight guy at the University of Alabama and you were an undergrad, and you got the opportunity to live in a sorority house, that’s cooking with grease. That’s pretty smart.”
As far back as 2016, a sorority at Tufts University, Alpha Omicron Pi <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/sorority-wants-include-female-identifying-men-pardes-seleh/">offered a membership</a> to 19-year-old Harper Hopkins, a biological male; the sorority’s national office was reluctant to offer membership. Cosmopolitan Magazine <a href="http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a8262963/half-of-a-sorority-in-massachusetts-has-quit-to-protest-transgender-exclusion/">ran</a> the story, denouncing the sorority as “inherently transphobic.”
The international sorority later apologized for hesitating and approved Hopkins&#8217; membership. Alpha Omicron Pi’s interim president, Amanda Wisti, stated that the sorority’s policy change on transgender students included changing “woman” to “female-identifying.”

Texas A&M v Alabama

‘Roll Tide’: University Of Alabama Sororities Unanimously Reject Membership For Transgender Applicant