Seven sorority sisters have sued the University of Wyoming for admitting a transgender woman into their home alleging she voyeuristically gazed at them while having an erection.
The women, who were not named in the lawsuit, sued the school, as well as their 21-year-old transgender sister Artemis Langford, who joined their chapter in September 2022.
Langford, who is 6’2″ and 260 pounds, will be moving into the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) house along with 50 other women. Although the 21-year-old currently lives out of the house, the girls say she is close to often at home, her sorority house watching them and has been caught on at least one occasion sporting a boner.
“An adult human male does not become a female solely because he tells others that he has a female ‘gender identity’ and behaves in a manner that he believes is stereotypically female,” the lawsuit states, referring to Langford under Terry’s male pen name. Smith said.
“The Fraternity Council has betrayed the core purpose and mission of Kappa Kappa Gamma by conflating the experience of being a woman with the experience of men who behave generally associated with women,” said the lawsuit, seen by Cowboy State Journalsaying.
Seven past and present sisters, who were not named, sued the school, as well as its 21-year-old transgender member Artemis Langford (rear left in orange) who joined their chapter in September 2022.
The suit alleged that ‘[Langford] Ha, while watching the members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings several times. She also alleged that “Smith repeatedly asked women about what the vaginas look like, the cup size of the breasts, whether the women were considering breast reduction and birth control.”
However, the sorority’s executive director, Kari Kittrell Poole, told the Associated Press that the lawsuit “contains numerous false allegations,” but the sorority was unable to comment in detail. KKG does not discriminate based on factors including gender identity, she added.
The suit also alleged that ‘Mr. blacksmith [Langford] Ha, while watching the members enter the sorority house, got a boner visible through his leggings. Other times, she has had a pillow on her lap.
They also accused her of taking photos of them at a sleepover and making inappropriate comments to them.
“Smith repeatedly asked the women what their vaginas look like, the cup size of the breasts, whether the women were considering breast reduction and birth control,” the complaint states.
Langford was reportedly supposed to leave the party at 10 p.m., but stayed until midnight. Then, returning the next morning, she reportedly stood in the corner watching the other girls change out of their pajamas.
One of the women claimed she was unaware that her sorority sister had returned to the residence and had removed her pajama top without a bra and turned around to find Langford staring at her, the complaint alleges.
The sisters reportedly later revealed to him that Langford had “his hands on his genitals” and seemed sexually aroused.
The women also allege that Langford (pictured) dresses primarily in men’s clothing. They also said they were ‘intimidated’ into voting for Langford to join the sorority because the voting process, which was supposed to be anonymous, was not
‘Since that event, Mr. Smith [Langford] has repeatedly asked [the woman] about their romantic ties,’ the lawsuit said.
The women also claimed that Langford is attracted to women, which they say is evident in his Tinder profile “through which he seeks to meet women.”
Another alleged that he saw her walking down the hall in a towel and that she sat in the back of the room during a group yoga class in December and “watched the assembled young women flex their bodies,” the lawsuit says.
It also alleged that Smith, who identifies with female pronouns on Twitter, wears women’s clothing “only occasionally,” has not undergone a medical gender transition.
She also identifies as male on a Washington state driver’s license even though she legally could have identified as female or gender ‘X,’ the lawsuit alleges.
“An adult human male does not become a female solely because he tells others that he has a female ‘gender identity’ and behaves in a way that he believes is stereotypically female,” the lawsuit says.
The women also say many felt “intimidated” into including Langford in the sorority because their voting process, which promises anonymity, failed to do so. They were asked to fill out a Google form asking them to identify themselves.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare Smith’s sorority membership void and award unspecified damages. Damages should reflect the decline in financial stability and local chapter giving due to Smith’s induction last fall, the lawsuit alleges (pictured: University of Wyoming)
Also, while inducting Smith, the sorority did not improperly rely on official bylaws but on a 2018 ‘Guide to Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members’ which says that Kappa Kappa Gamma is a ‘single gender’ organization that admits both ‘women ‘ as ‘individuals who identify as women,’ the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit against the national sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, its national council president, and Langford claimed that national sorority officials pressured the local chapter to violate sorority rules, including voting to induce new members.
“If he votes no, it better be because of problems with that new member or else he’s homophobic,” said one member. The women accused their leadership of ignoring their concerns about a biological male living in the house.
“If you have something to say about this that isn’t nice or respectful, keep it to yourself,” said one of the women who told them.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare Smith’s sorority membership void and award unspecified damages. The damages should reflect the decline in financial stability and donations to the local chapter due to Smith’s induction last fall, the lawsuit alleges.
The University of Wyoming campus in Laramie has a long history of bickering with LGBTQ+ issues since the 1998 murder of gay freshman Matthew Shepard raised nationwide attention. Wyoming, along with South Carolina, is one of two states that has yet to adopt a hate crime law since Shepard’s murder.
Republican Gov. Mark Gordon recently allowed the ban on transgender athletes in pre-college interscholastic athletics to become law without his signature.
Allowing transgender women access to some female-only spaces has become a hot topic.
Some have warned that biological women should not be expected to share prisons, rape shelters, bathrooms or locker rooms with trans women who have not undergone gender reassignment surgery.
But community supporters say trans women are already vulnerable and it’s unfair to go after the vast majority who just want to live their lives in peace because of the actions of a few bad apples.