Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Sorority Over Admission of Transgender Member
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by several former University of Wyoming sorority members who sued Kappa Kappa Gamma after the organization admitted a transgender woman.
U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson ruled that the private sorority is free to define membership requirements in its own governing documents, including its definition of “woman.”
Dallin "Artemis" Langford, who claims to be transgender, was admitted to a Wyoming University sorority.
While in the sorority house, Langford was accused of watching women, sometimes with an "erection visible through his leggings," according to a lawsuit filed by KKG sisters,… https://t.co/EOwU2lxHFr pic.twitter.com/aGZqUz0cOt
— Genevieve Gluck (@WomenReadWomen) March 31, 2025
“Nothing in the Bylaws or the Standing Rules requires Kappa to narrowly define the words ‘women’ or ‘woman’ to include only those individuals born with a certain set of reproductive organs,” Johnson wrote in his decision. He dismissed the case on the grounds that the sorority had not violated a contractual obligation.
The plaintiffs had argued that Kappa Kappa Gamma advertised itself as a “sisterhood for women only” and that they would not have joined had they known the organization admitted individuals who were not biologically female. They claimed they were misled and were victims of fraud.
According to court records, Kappa Kappa Gamma adopted a policy in 2022 defining a woman as “an individual who consistently lives and self-identifies as a woman” for purposes of recruitment.
The plaintiffs’ 2023 complaint stated their belief that “a woman is an adult human female” and argued that admitting transgender members undermined the meaning of membership.
Judge Johnson’s ruling leaves the sorority’s definition in place. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have not yet indicated whether they will appeal the decision.
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