Last week, Alpha Chi Omega Sorority announced that anyone who "lives and identifies as a woman" is eligible for membership. As the root of the word 'sorority' literally means 'sister'--this statement may not seem revolutionary at first glance. However, with this stance, Alpha Chi Omega makes it clear that they will welcome transgender women into their national sisterhood.
As a Panhellenic woman myself, I've found Panhellenic's less than clear stance on membership of transgender women troubling. As an organization that actively promotes the advancement of women--why shouldn't this include everyone who lives and identifies as a woman?
I'm thankful for all that sororities have done to help empower women everywhere: raising money to assist in educating women all over the world, focusing on women's health issues, and empowering members with leadership skills. I also am proud to be part of an organization that publicly speaks out against other types of injustice in our world. But despite all of the good sororities do, there has certainly been a lack of clear support for the inclusion of transgender women, until now.
Discrimination and bigotry are still rampant in so many spheres of our lives, and I'm not naive enough to think that this statement from Alpha Chi Omega will suddenly erase all prejudice against transgender women from the world, from universities, or even from every Panhellenic sorority in America. But I'm hopeful that with their stance, Alpha Chi Omega will begin the shift in mindset from exclusion to inclusion within the Panhellenic community, and inspire other sororities to speak out for empowerment of allstrong women.