What’s happening at University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, where an obvious male has demanded admission, is part of a society-wide campaign.
What’s happening at University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, where an obvious male has demanded admission, is part of a society-wide campaign.
I n my lifetime, I have had many roles — daughter, collegian, wife, mother, farmer, author, educator, entrepreneur, volunteer, director. Now, I unexpectedly — but proudly — add to the list “Women’s Rights Advocate.” I am appalled that women must now defend our sex yet again, and I will not be silent as women are asked to give away the very essence of our being.
Like every other mammal on the planet, humans enter this world as either a female with XX chromosomes or male as XY chromosomes. There are endless personalities that can inhabit these two sex-chromosome sequences, but at the foundation, we are all either a man or a woman. These distinctions have consequences. And while there are many advantages to being born female, there are also disadvantages: Men are typically physically faster and stronger, which leaves women more physically vulnerable. Women need and deserve protection and privacy.
Today, as society is increasingly forcing people to pretend that these basic physical differences do not exist and do not have meaningful consequences, we are jeopardizing women’s spaces and women’s core rights. Sadly, entities and leaders who are supposed to defend women are increasingly pushing women’s interests aside.
My beloved sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, has found itself in the middle of a fight that it has brought upon itself. Recently, young women at the University of Wyoming chapter were bullied by their leadership into accepting a man claiming to be a woman into their sisterhood. Leadership seemed to believe that if the college women refused to accept that a 6’2”, 240-pound person with male behavior and male physique somehow qualified as a “woman,” then they were in the wrong and needed to be “educated” and removed from the space.
In response, alumni and lifelong members from across the country have rallied to support the collegiate women, urging the leadership of the national organization to reconsider their stance. We’ve asked them to recognize what is going on and how it is a clear affront to the very concept of womanhood and the existence of sororities. Men claiming to identify as women are being granted access to women’s spaces and opportunities, effectively eroding the sanctity and very purpose of these places. It is not just happening in sororities but in women’s sports, women’s shelters, and even women’s prisons. And this is not happening to just my sorority — all women’s groups are being targeted, and many have simply withered from the pressure instead of standing up for our rights. Many organizations are, like Kappa Kappa Gamma is today, doubling down on their position.
Women are born and raised to value kindness and inclusion. These very traits are leading to dangerous situations. They don’t want to hurt the feelings of people or to fail to be “inclusive.” Yet by reworking our structures and systems to be kind to the one male-bodied person who wishes to be included in activities meant for women, we are being profoundly unkind — and unfair — to all the women. These sorority women have learned the hard lesson that this push for “inclusion” is threatening our basic rights to gather and support each other. These women are all being told to deny reality and their very legitimate concerns about the degradation of women’s safety and privacy. This is not about diversity. This is misogyny. We all must stand up and say “enough.”
Generations of women have been forced to fight battles for equality and fairness, and because of them, many rights for women are now accepted as the norm. We can now vote, pursue an education, and receive equal pay for our labors — women are thriving. We benefit from our protected women’s-only sports and spaces. We must not give these away.
It is essential for us to unite nationwide against this assault on women and the sanctity of women-only spaces. We must protect the progress made over the last century. Women’s equality and progress required the establishment of separate spaces exclusively for women — including in competitive sports. The current attempt to dismantle the rights and achievements of women can no longer be ignored. It is blatantly flaunted in front of the entire nation, demanding our immediate attention and action in support of women.
Let us come together to protect the integrity of women’s spaces and rights. We must uphold the principles upon which organizations such as the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority were founded, fostering a supportive environment where women can thrive and achieve excellence. By preserving the integrity of women’s spaces, we uphold the values of fairness, equality, and respect for all.