Sorority sisters slam University of Wyoming for admitting trans woman who gets visibly aroused around them
LARAMIE, WYOMING: A group of sorority sisters at the University of Wyoming have expressed their concerns over the possibility that a trans woman will be allowed to move into their house next term. According to seven Kappa Kappa Gamma women, who have filed a lawsuit against the college, the trans woman, Artemis Langford, was visibly aroused while being around them.
Langford reportedly does not live in the property but has spent a lot of time there, with 50 other young women. Langford has been given persmission to move into the Sorority House from September, Daily Mail reported. The women already living on the property reportedly said they were feeling "vulnerable" and "uncomfortable."
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"It is really uncomfortable. Some of the girls have been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed. Some girls live in constant fear in our home," one of the sisters, Hannah, told Megyn Kelly on her podcast. She added, "Men are never allowed on the second floor of our house apart from moving in and moving out. So it is an only-female space and not like living in the dorms. We share just a couple of main bathrooms but it is supposed to be safe space for us to rest our head at night." One of the sisters demanded the management ensure the home is a "female only" safe space.
Who is Artemis Langford?
Langford was the first openly-transgender sister accepted by the sorority in the college’s history. Langford, of Lander, was born male but identifies as a woman. Langford attended high school in Lander. Langford is 6'2' and weighs 260lbs.
Langford expressed joy to the Branding Iron, UW’s student newspaper, after being accepted into the sorority, according Cowboy StateDaily. “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, adding that the sorority sisters “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.”
'It's a weird gut wrenching feeling'
A lawsuit obtained by Cowboy StateDaily claimed Langford would stare at the women in a common-area for several hours, without even speaking. The women demanded that a judge declare Langford's sorority membership as void. They also want unspecified damages to be awarded.
"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 lawsuit stated. "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," it further read.
Many of the women claimed that their fears and concerns were dismissed by the president and membership chair of the Chapter before Langford was admitted to the sorority. "It's a weird gut wrenching feeling that every time I leave my room I'll walk past him in the hall in whatever setting that may be. And it's never a pleasant encounter and that's the scary part. This just goes to show that we need women's spaces for that reason. Our house is our home," another sister, Jaylyn, said on the podcast, adding, "All of the bathrooms are shared spaces and there are no private changing areas or locks. It's very open and vulnerable."
"There has been an exemption granted for his safety but not for us," sorority member Ellie, said. "They have decided that the individual does not need to live in the house but this individual has gotten preferential treatment. He [Langford] still come to the house and engages in dinners and sits in chairs to watch the girls," she added.
Cassie, one of the members against the move, said, "We lost quite a few members as a result of this. I refuse to subvert my rights as a women to cater towards the comfort of a man. Everyone needs to be treated with dignity and request but there's a line and it has been crossed." She added, "We can't allow woke culture to be the arbiter of what sisterhood is. It's a shared experience. It's growth and development. This experience is not doing this individual any justice whatsoever."
Artemis Langford had 'his hands over his genitals'
The lawsuit alleged that Langford "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." Langford has also been accused of taking the women's photos at a slumber party and making inappropriate comments to them. "Langford repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether women were considering breast reductions and birth control," the lawsuit alleged.
It has been alleged that Langford, who was supposed to leave the party by 10 pm, stayed back until midnight, and then returned again the next morning. Langford allegedly stood in a corner and watched one of the women change out of their pajamas. Some women revealed Langford had "his hands over his genitals" and appeared sexually aroused.
"Since that event, Mr. Smith [Langford] has repeatedly asked [the woman] about her romantic attachments," the lawsuit stated. The women said Langford was attracted to women and had a Tinder profile "'through which he seeks to meet women." The lawsuit said that Langford identifies as male on a Washington State driver's license although a female or 'X' gender could have been used.
One of the sorority sisters claimed Langford does not even make "any effort" to "physically look like a girl," according to National Review. "He's just calling himself a girl. All you have to do is identify as a she/her," she said.
Some sorority members supported Artemis Langford
The community's supporters, however, have backed Langford, saying trans women were vulnerable. Some of the sorority's senior members extended their support when Langford was admitted. They reportedly told the group "regardless of what your political views are, our Kappa values are acceptance and kindness so if that is something that you disagree with, that's not in line with Kappa values."
The affidavit accused the sorority of improperly relying on a 2018 "Guide for Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members" that says Kappa Kappa Gamma is a "single-gender'" organization that admits both "women" and "individuals who identify as women" rather than official bylaws. Women who expressed their concerns about Langford were allegedly told they can "drop out."
The sorority sent out a Google document for members to vote on before voting Langford in, which they were told would be anonymous. The online ballot, however, asked the women to provide their emails, leaving them feeling more uncomfortable.
Outrage after trans woman flashed girls
Trans women being allowed inside bathrooms and locker rooms of women and girls has sparked outrage on various occasions. Recently, a Wisconsin school district came under fire after an 18-year-old trans female student allegedly exposed their male genitalia after getting into the showers with four freshman girls at an area high school in April. "The most basic duty of a school district is to keep our kids safe while they learn," Dan Lennington, Deputy Counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), said at the time, according to Fox News. "These four girls just wanted to rinse off after gym class involving a swim unit and, when they went into the shower, they were confronted by an 18-year-old who undressed, said ‘I’m trans by the way,' and exposed his penis to these four freshman girls," he added.