Seven sorority sisters have sued the University of Wyoming for admitting a transgender woman into their home over allegations that she peeked at them during an erection.
The women, who were not named in the lawsuit, sued the school, as well as their transgender sister Artemis Langford, 21, who joined their chapter in September 2022.
Langford, who is 6-foot-2 and weighs 260 pounds, will be moving into the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) house with 50 other women. And although the 21-year-old currently lives outside the home, the girls say she is often at their club house watching them and they have caught her on at least one occasion having an erection.
“An adult human male does not become a woman simply because he tells others he has a female ‘gender identity’ and acts in what he believes to be stereotypical female behavior,” the lawsuit, which refers to Langford under the male pseudonym Terry Smith said.
“The Brethren’s Council betrayed the central purpose and mission of Kappa Kappa Gamma by confusing the experience of being a woman with the experience of men engaging in behavior generally associated with women,” the lawsuit he witnessed Cowboy State DailyHe said.
Seven former and present sisters, who have not been named, have sued the school, as well as their transgender member Artemis Langford, 21 (left in orange) who joined their chapter in September 2022
The suit alleged that Langford, while watching the members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings several times. She also alleged that “Smith repeatedly questioned women about the shape of their vagina, breast cup size, and whether women were considering breast reduction and birth control.”
However, the club’s executive director, Carrie Ketterell Ball, told the Associated Press that the lawsuit “contains many false allegations,” but the organization could not comment in detail. She added that the KKG does not discriminate on the basis of factors including gender identity.
The suit also alleged that ‘Mr. Smith (Langford), while watching the members enter a sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings. Other times, he had a pillow in his lap.
They also accused her of taking pictures of them at a slumber party and making inappropriate comments to them.
“Smith repeatedly questioned the shape of the vagina, the size of the breast cup, and whether women were considering breast reduction and birth control,” the complaint states.
Langford was reportedly supposed to leave the party by 10 p.m., but stayed until midnight. Then, upon his return the next morning, he reportedly stood in the corner watching the other girls put on their pajamas.
One woman claimed she didn’t know her sorority sister had returned to the residence and changed out of her pajama shirt without a bra and when she turned around she found Langford staring at her, the complaint alleged.
Her classmates’ sisters reportedly later revealed to her that Langford had “his hands on his genitals” and appeared to be sexually aroused.
Women also claim that Langfords (pictured) mainly dressed as men. They also said they were “intimidated” into voting Langford into joining 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 her romantic engagements,” the suit reads.
The women also claimed that Langford is attracted to women, which they said is evident in her Tinder profile “through which he seeks to meet women”.
Another claimed to have seen her walk down the aisle in a towel, the suit said, 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.”
She also claimed that Smith, who recognizes female pronouns on Twitter, wears women’s clothing “only occasionally,” and has not undergone medical gender transition.
The lawsuit alleges that she also identifies as male on her Washington state driver’s license even though she could have legally been identified as female or the “X” sex.
“An adult human male does not become a woman simply because he tells others he has a female ‘gender identity’ and acts in what he believes to be stereotypical female behavior,” the suit says.
The women also say many felt “intimidated” into getting Langford into the sorority because the voting process, which promises to remain anonymous, failed to do so. They were asked to fill out a Google form that asked them to identify themselves.
The suit asks the judge to declare Smith’s sorority membership void and award unspecified damages. The lawsuit claims the damages must reflect the local chapter’s decline in financial stability and donations due to Smith’s induction last fall (Photo: University of Wyoming)
Additionally, during Smith’s introduction, the organization incorrectly relied not on official bylaws but on a 2018 guide to support members of our LGBTQIA+ community which states that Kappa Kappa Gamma is a “single-sex” organization that accepts both “women” and ” individuals who identify themselves. As women, the suit says.
The lawsuit against the Kappa Kappa Gamma National Sorority and its National Council President and Langford alleged that National Sorority officials pressured the local chapter to violate the sorority’s rules, including those for voting to bring in new members.
One member said, “If you vote no, it better be because the problems are with that new member or it’s homophobic.” The women accused their leadership of ignoring their concerns about a biological man living in the house.
One woman said they were told, “If you have something to say about this that isn’t nice or respectful, keep it to yourself.”
The suit asks the judge to declare Smith’s sorority membership void and award unspecified damages. The suit alleges that the damages must reflect the local chapter’s decline in financial stability and donations due to Smith’s induction last fall.
The University of Wyoming’s Laramie campus has a long history of controversy with LGBTQ+ issues since the murder of freshman Matthew Shepard in 1998, which has led to a nationwide surge in interest in it. Wyoming, along with South Carolina, is one of only two states that has not yet adopted a hate crime law since Shepherd’s killing.
Republican Governor Mark Gordon recently allowed a ban on transgender athletes in pre-college interscholastic athletics to become law without his signature.
Allowing trans women access to some female-only spaces has become a hot-button issue.
Some have warned that biological women should not be expected to share prisons, rape shelters, bathrooms, or changing facilities with trans women who have not undergone sex reassignment surgery.
But supporters of the community say that trans women are indeed vulnerable, and that it is unfair to persecute the vast majority who just want to live their lives in peace because of the actions of a few bad apples.
