A transgender student shed tears of joy after a judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging her acceptance into a sorority at the University of Wyoming.
Wyoming U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson, 84, ruled that he could not overrule the way the private, voluntary organization defined a woman and the order that she did not belong.
In the lawsuit, six members of the 40-member Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority challenged 21-year-old Artemis Langford’s confession, raising doubts about whether sorority rules allowed for a transgender woman.
The sisters who sued said Langford’s presence in their fraternity house made them uncomfortable – and alleged that Langford “had an erection that was visible through his leggings as he watched members enter the fraternity house.” Another time he had a pillow on his lap.’
They also accused her of photographing them at a slumber party and making inappropriate comments about it.
Artemis Langford reacts with relief in her dorm room at the University of Wyoming after learning from her attorney that the lawsuit to oust her from Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority has been dismissed
A judge dismissed a lawsuit by University of Wyoming fraternity sisters challenging the admission of a transgender woman – Artemis Langford (pictured) – whom they accused of being a sex offender
In the lawsuit, members of the sorority group Kappa Kappa Gamma questioned the admission of Artemis Langford (back, far left) by expressing doubts about whether the sorority’s rules would allow a transgender woman to join the organization
With the lawsuit dismissed, Langford is hoping for a fresh start this semester.
“Maybe I can just be another student on campus, another regular sister in the Wyoming chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma?” Langford told The Washington Post. “Maybe I can just be myself.”
The lawsuit portrayed Langford as a “sexual predator,” but the judge found that allegations about her behavior turned out to be nothing more than a drunkenness rumor.
The lawsuit also alleged that Langford violated KKG policies by joining the sorority despite not being a woman or making an effort to look like one.
“I wish I didn’t care.” All the things they said. “How they portrayed me like a male freak,” Langford said of the suit.
“Some parts were completely made up,” Langford said. “Others were things I remember, but in her version it was so twisted that it looked weird, disgusting and sexual.”
“Other than occasionally wearing women’s clothing, Mr. Smith makes little effort to resemble a woman,” the lawsuit said, using the incorrect pronoun and an anonymous male name.
‘Mister. Smith is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 260 pounds. No other member of Kappa Kappa Gamma has comparable size or strength.’
The lawsuit tore the sorority apart as the majority of girls decided not to have their names included in court documents. For months, no one knew who had decided to file a lawsuit until the judge forced Jaylyn Westenbroek, Hannah Holtmeier, Allison Coghan, Grace Choate, Madeline Ramar and Megan Kosa to reveal themselves.
A photo of a text exchange between two members of the KKG sorority appears to contradict previous allegations that Langford had a visible erection in the presence of other sisters
In one message, a member who claimed to have been in the room at the time of the alleged incident appeared to text another member: “I’m pretty much 100% sure it didn’t happen.”
Wyoming U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson noted in his ruling that the sorority’s bylaws — as a private, voluntary organization — do not define who a woman is
Originally seeking acceptance and community, Langford became a member of the University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, but encountered opposition from conservative media and local activists, leading to a federal lawsuit from six of the sorority’s sisters
A member of the sorority said she was called a “bigot and transphobic” because she didn’t want to shower and sleep in the same area as Langford
“People suffered from insomnia, panic attacks and nervous breakdowns,” said a sorority member who was not involved in the lawsuit.
“The student body mocks us, the university is silent, and random people from all over the US find our social contacts and harass us,” said another.
Langford also suffered abuse on campus. At one point, a church elder, Todd Schmidt, who had no connection to the university, posted a sign near the student union.
“God created male and female and Artemis Langford is a man,” it said.
Some of her sisters showed their support and stood in front of the sign to block people’s view.
“Something terrible happened, and at the same time it was amazing to see my sisters standing up for me when I was scared.”
Schmidt later said he didn’t mean to target Langford personally but was inspired by a Bible verse.
Artemis Langford, a transgender student on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie
Artemis Langford has decided to return to University of Wyoming Housing this semester and move in on the Laramie campus instead of living in the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity house
Langford reunites with her close friend Tanner Ewalt, a fellow senator and political science major in the ASUW University Senate on the University of Wyoming campus
Langford sat on a couch for hours and stared at her “without speaking,” the lawsuit said, and she “voyeuristically watched her while they were in intimate situations.”
The sisters also alleged that Langford harassed the women who lived in the sorority house by silently watching some of them walk to and from the house and shower with only towels.
They also provided evidence from Langford’s Tinder profile that the student was “sexually interested in women.”
In addition, according to the lawsuit, Langford “repeatedly questioned the women about what their vaginas looked like, what breast cup size they had, and whether women were considering breast reduction and contraception.”
The women claimed Langford would stare at the other girls for hours without saying anything while she sat with a pillow on her lap.
They also accused her of taking photos of the girls at a slumber party.
Artemis Langford visits the bench dedicated to Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student who was beaten to death in 1998
Over the summer, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority leaders decided that Artemis Langford should remain in the dorms for her and their safety, given the death threats and controversy her membership in the sorority generated
Artemis Langford with her acceptance letter to join the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority at the University of Wyoming in Laramie
Stones with offensive messages intended to hurt and insult Langford were left outside the sorority house
A young woman claimed she once saw Langford staring at her while she was changing.
Langford “placed his hands over his genitals” and appeared to be sexually aroused, the young woman said – although the validity of that claim has since been questioned.
“I refuse to undermine my rights as a woman to ensure the comfort of a man,” said one of the sisters who filed the lawsuit.
However, Judge Johnson noted that the sorority’s bylaws do not define who a woman is.
A federal court could not interfere with the sorority’s freedom of association by ruling against its vote last year to admit transgender women, Johnson ruled.
Since there was no definition of a woman in the sorority’s bylaws, Johnson decided that he could not enforce the Six Sisters’ definition of a woman in place of the more expansive sorority definition presented in court.
The judge described some of the sister’s arguments as “clearly inaccurate.”
“Because the inquiry begins and ends here, the court will not define ‘woman’ today,” Johnson wrote.
“The fact that this happened in a federal courthouse in freaking Wyoming of all places. ‘I can’t believe it!’ Langford told The Washington Post.
Langford socializes with her friend Grace Harding, 21, a fellow criminal justice major in Laramie, Wyoming. Harding has provided significant support in recent months as Langford pursued a lawsuit against the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority over its membership
Langford is pictured with two of her best friends on campus in Wyoming
Langford, second from right, pictured with friends during a debate competition
The case at the University of Wyoming drew widespread attention as transgender people continue to fight for greater acceptance in schools, sports, workplaces and elsewhere, while others fight back.
Langford’s lawyer Rachel Berkness welcomed the verdict.
“The allegations against Ms. Langford should never have made it into a legal record.” They are nothing more than cruel rumors that reflect exactly the type of rumors that have denigrated and dehumanized members of the LGBTQIA+ community for generations. And they are baseless,” Berkness said.
A lawyer for the six sisters who filed the lawsuit said they disagreed with the ruling and that the fundamental issue – the definition of a woman – was still unresolved.
“Many friends tell me, ‘If I had known it would be so easy to get into a dorm, I would have put on a skirt a long time ago,'” said Cassie Craven, a sorority attorney.
At the heart of the lawsuit was the question of the definition of a “woman,” as the sisters of the sorority argued that the organization had violated its own rules by admitting a biological male, since the KKG’s governing documents defined this space exclusively for women
After receiving death threats and being sued by her own sisters, Artemis Langford was nervous about returning to the University of Wyoming for the fall semester. She left her home in Utah before dawn, hoping to avoid others during the six-hour journey to Laramie, Wyoming
“Women have a biological reality that deserves to be protected and recognized, and we will continue to fight for that right, just as women’s rights activists have been told for decades that their bodies, their opinions and their safety don’t matter,” Craven said.
“For generations, women have benefited from the safety, privacy, camaraderie and shared experience of single-sex organizations and shelters. Future generations deserve this too.”
Since 2015, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s policy has been to allow the sorority’s more than 145 chapters to admit transgender women.
The guidelines mirror those of the 25 other sororities in the National Panhellenic Conference, the governing body for sororities in the United States and Canada.