Transgender women in sorority life?

[AZTheta]

Been reading and researching. "Sex" =/= "Gender". Important distinction. More to learn.

[SoCalGirl]

From things I've learned over the years, through news programming and documentaries, I knew that sex and gender aren't equal. In the same vain that a "cross dresser" isn't necessarily a transgender. Then you get into the sexuality aspect. Such as a biological male who is a transgender female but dates women.

Can make your head swim to think of all the variations.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by Sen's Revenge

That is not at all what Title IX addresses, AGDee. Title IX does not dictate that a sorority is forbidden from initiating men. Social sororities are EXEMPT FROM Title IX rules.

Title IX says, in essence: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

If a chapter of a sorority wanted to accept a transgender woman, they would be subject to the rules of the sorority, not Title IX rules.

To the original poster: I feel you. Keep fighting. The battle will not be won on GreekChat, but it will, indeed, be won.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Right, but there is an argument that if some men are initiated, then a sorority could lose its Title IX exemption. The argument would be that by initiating some men, they could not decline to initiate other men simply because they're men.

^^^ That. It was Title IX that caused the fraternities to get rid of their little sister groups because they would lose their exemption. And Title IX says "sex", not "gender". Sororities and fraternities are not the only organizations trying to figure out how to manage the issues that arise. Dorms sometimes now have transgender floors and unisex community bathrooms (which I would have found absolutely HORRIFYING at that age).

The NCAA has formulated this criteria for participation in sports and it isn't that different from what we are saying here. I tried to cut and paste but I can't - it's on page 13. It essentially says that if not medically transitioning, athletes have to compete on the team in accordance with their assigned birth gender.
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/fi...2011_Final.pdf

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by AGDee

^^^ That. It was Title IX that caused the fraternities to get rid of their little sister groups because they would lose their exemption. And Title IX says "sex", not "gender". Sororities and fraternities are not the only organizations trying to figure out how to manage the issues that arise. Dorms sometimes now have transgender floors and unisex community bathrooms (which I would have found absolutely HORRIFYING at that age).

The NCAA has formulated this criteria for participation in sports and it isn't that different from what we are saying here. I tried to cut and paste but I can't - it's on page 13. It essentially says that if not medically transitioning, athletes have to compete on the team in accordance with their assigned birth gender.
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/fi...2011_Final.pdf

Thank you for the explanation! I was really mystified by the emphasis on full transition from some posters.