A U.S. District Court Judge, Alan B. Johnson, has dismissed a lawsuit filed by six sorority members from the University of Wyoming against their sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.
The lawsuit was filed after a male student, Artemis Langford, was admitted into the traditionally all-female group and resided in the sorority house. The judge dismissed the case on the grounds that the sorority's bylaws do not provide a definition for the term "woman," and he declined to provide his own interpretation.
The New York Post quoted Judge Johnson as saying, "With its inquiry beginning and ending there, the court will not define a woman today. The students had initially filed the lawsuit under the pseudonym "Terry Smith" to protect Langford from potential threats and attacks, expressing their desire for him to be treated with kindness and respect.
Despite Judge Johnson's order for the students to reveal their identities if they wished to continue with the lawsuit, the case was dismissed even after six of the seven women complied. In his ruling, Johnson noted that the University of Wyoming chapter had voted to admit Langford, and that the decision had been approved by the broader sorority, which boasts over 250,000 members across the United States and Canada.
The judge also highlighted the sorority's freedom of association, stating that he "may not invade Kappa Kappa Gammas freedom of expressive association and inject the circumscribed definition Plaintiffs urge. The plaintiffs had sought to revoke Langford's membership and requested an unspecified amount in damages.
The lawsuit alleged that the female students were forced to live with a man who intimidated them by staring, asking about their intimate past, taking notes on their conversations, photographing them without consent, and threatening to label them as bigots if they voiced their concerns. One member claimed that Langford had an erection visible through his leggings while watching members enter the sorority house, and at other times, he had a pillow in his lap.
Langford's attorney, Rachel Berkness, reportedly dismissed these allegations as baseless and cruel rumors, likening them to the type of rumors used to vilify and dehumanize members of the LGBTQIA+ community for generations.
Kappa Kappa Gamma's executive director, Kari Kittrell Poole, reportedly stated that the sorority does not discriminate based on gender identity and that the lawsuit contained numerous false allegations. However, she did not specify which allegations she was referring to. The case's dismissal underscores the ongoing debates surrounding gender identity and the freedom of association within traditionally single-gender organizations.
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