Creepy Man Joins Sorority with Predictable Results

In 1871, the bylaws of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority declared that “any lady may become a candidate for membership who shall be of good moral character and above average talent.”

One hundred and forty-seven years later, the organization issued a “Guide for Supporting our LGBTQIA+ Members” instructing sorority chapters to admit both women and “individuals who identify as women.” This was a big decision — perhaps with unconsidered consequences — to declare KKG a “single-gender organization” when it had been a successful “single-sex organization” for 150 years.

(To read more about the difference between sex and gender, and why it matters, try this article.)

This change is one among many reasons that seven Jane Doe plaintiffs — present and former KKG members — are suing the sorority. They allege, among other things, that the 2018 guidance did not alter the bylaws, “and that the sorority has therefore breached its fiduciary duty toward its female members,” when in the wake of these changes, the KKG chapter at the University of Wyoming allowed its first “transwoman” to join.

Who is this “transwoman”?

According to an article in the National Review, Dallin “Artemis” Langford had tried to join KKG in the fall of 2022 but had been dropped during formal rush because “he didn’t leave a strong impression.” He tried again during an informal process called Continuous Open Bidding. Over the objections of many members, “the membership chair assured members that the vote [on Langford] would be anonymous and would have to be unanimous in order for Langford to be admitted, [but] the online ballot asked members to identify themselves with their emails, which intimidated women who felt uncomfortable with a male joining the sorority.”

An article in The Cowboy State Daily also describes the pressure the sorority members were under to admit Langford:

“Sorority representatives not only approved Mr. [Langford]’s membership, but national Sorority officials also encouraged chapter officers to pursue Mr. [Langford] and guided chapter officers in the illegal selection process,” the complaint alleges….

The chapter president, membership chair and vice president for Academic Excellence spoke prior to the vote, the complaint alleges, telling the women they could only vote against Langford if they could articulate specific concerns about Langford’s personality.  

“If members had not met Mr. [Langford], then a ‘no’ vote was evidence that the member was a bigot,” the complaint says, adding that bigotry is grounds for expulsion. 

National alumnae supervisors were pressuring the UW chapter to induct its first transgender member to raise the chapter’s prominence and garner the national sorority leaders’ favor, the suit says.

The same Cowboy State Daily article states that Langford’s grade point average at the time he applied was only 1.9, while the minimum for sorority applicants is 2.7.

And then what happened?

Somehow, despite the fact that Langford was not a woman, didn’t have the required GPA, didn’t make a good impression during rush, and many members didn’t want him as a member — Langford was admitted anyway.

What were the sorority members’ options?

KKG members are required to live in the sorority house, and their parents had paid many thousands of (nonrefundable) dollars for them to live there. But even if the women felt strongly enough about not living with a man that they were willing to quit KKG (and had enough resources to pay a second rent elsewhere), they had all signed a loyalty pledge not to join another sorority — so sorority life would be out of the question for them.

And how did that work out for everyone?

Despite the requirement in the 1871 bylaws, Langford has behaved as a stereotypical creepy guy, not as a “lady of good moral character.”

The Reduxx website describes some of the things Langford is alleged to have done according to the lawsuit:

the young women are alleging Langford had been voyeuristically peeping on them while they were in intimate situations, and, in at least one occasion, had a visible erection while doing so.

“One sorority member walked down the hall to take a shower, wearing only a towel … She felt an unsettling presence, turned, and saw Mr. [Langford] watching her silently,” the court document reads.

“Mr. [Langford] has, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings,” the suit says. “Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap.”

The complaint adds that Langford is “sexually interested in women” as evidenced by his Tinder profile “through which he seeks to meet women.” It is further alleged that Langford took photographs of the women while at a sorority slumber party, where he also is said to have made inappropriate comments.

“[Langford] repeatedly questioned the women about what vaginas look like, breast cup size, whether women were considering breast reductions and birth control,” the complaint alleges.  

Langford “was supposed” to leave the slumber party by 10 p.m. that evening but did not, saying that he intended to leave after the women fell asleep. After singing to himself at approximately 11 p.m., Langford finally left the residence at midnight, only to return the next morning.

At that time, it is stated that Langford stood silently in the corner of the room while watching other pledges change out of their sleeping garments.

The lawsuit also highlighted a disturbing incident involving one of the women as she changed her clothing. Unaware that Langford had returned to the house, she faced away from the women and removed her shirt. The woman, who was not wearing a bra, turned to discover Langford staring at her after she had put on a clean shirt.

Some of the KKG members would later tell the woman that Langford had appeared sexually aroused during this incident. It was claimed that Langford stood with “his hands over his genitals,” and has since repeatedly questioned the woman about her “romantic attachments.”

Langford was also said to have sat in the back of a sorority yoga class for an hour in December 2022 “and watched the assembled young women flex their bodies.”

What do the women want?

The women are asking the court to “void Langford’s membership in the sorority and declare that men cannot be in the sorority under its existing governing documents” as well as monetary damages and attorneys’ fees.  

What should all reasonable people want?

Women need spaces of their own. In 1974 Congress determined that it was not “sex discrimination” to allow single-sex fraternities and sororities to exist. Women deserve spaces apart from men — and any women who joined this sorority knowing they’d have to live in a house with 50 other women didn’t count on having to live with a man — much less a creepy man insisting he’s a woman and asking them what their vaginas look like.

It doesn’t take a genius to say this, and it needs to be said:

This is a man.

This is a 6 foot, 2 inch, 260 pound man.

This is a creepy and predatory man, doing creepy, predatory, wildly inappropriate things.

He doesn’t belong in a house full of 50 women. He is not their “sister.”

We can’t rely on simple slogans like “transwomen are women” to make these important decisions — because a lot of people sincerely believe, for many purposes and in many contexts: No, they’re not. This guy is not a woman.

That a group of women can be bullied into allowing a predator into their house — where they are required to live — and called bigots if they don’t comply — represents a huge step backward in women’s autonomy and dignity.

We need to have these discussions. Now.