Women's Liberation Front

WoLF was founded by author and activist Lierre Keith in 2014.{{cite web |title=Staff and Board |url=https://www.womensliberationfront.org/staff-and-board |url-status=live |archive-url= |archive-date= |accessdate=March 29, 2025 |website=Women's Liberation Front}} {{As of|2021}}, WoLF reported having nearly 1,000 members across the United States.{{cite court |litigants=Anita Noelle Green v. Miss United States of America, LLC|vol= |reporter= |opinion=No. 21-35228 |court=9th Cir |date=October 29, 2021 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f232ea74d8342386a7ebc52/t/61802dee3eea9a7c7d33be5a/1635790318706/Filed.Green.v.MUSA.Amicus.Brief.WoLF.pdf |access-date=}} WoLF describes itself as a radical feminist organization. WoLF has been characterized by Vox, The New Republic, and La Presse, The Advocate, and The Washington Post as a "trans-exclusionary radical feminist" (TERF) group,{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/5/20840101/terfs-radical-feminists-gender-critical|last=Burns|first=Katelyn|title=The rise of anti-trans "radical" feminists, explained|date=September 9, 2019|accessdate=April 14, 2021|work=Vox|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811100302/https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/5/20840101/terfs-radical-feminists-gender-critical|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Hachey|first1=Isabelle|title=La femme qui dérange|url=https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2019-06-12/la-femme-qui-derange|access-date=October 18, 2021|work=La Presse|date=June 12, 2019|quote=Fait étonnant, celles qui luttent avec le plus de véhémence contre les droits des transgenres ne sont pas des machos frustrés, mais… des féministes de gauche. Elles ont même un nom : les TERF, acronyme anglais pour « trans-exclusionary radical feminists ».|trans-quote=Surprisingly, those who fight with the greatest vehemence against transgender rights are not frustrated male chauvinists, but left-wing feminists. They even have a name: TERF, an English acronym for "trans-exclusionary radical feminists". In the United States, they formed WoLF, the Women's Liberation Front, and spoke of transgender people as a "social contagion".|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018043112/https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2019-06-12/la-femme-qui-derange|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/156539/new-anti-trans-culture-war-hiding-plain-sight|title=The New Anti-Trans Culture War Hiding in Plain Sight|first=Sydney|last=Bauer|date=February 11, 2020|magazine=The New Republic|accessdate=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018043110/https://newrepublic.com/article/156539/new-anti-trans-culture-war-hiding-plain-sight|url-status=live}} and it has been described as a hate group by the Gender Justice League.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-11 |title=Event at Seattle Public Library causes firestorm, group accused of being 'hate group' |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/controversial-hate-group-event-seattle-public-library-causes-firestorm/SHZT7665XZAYRNCV3FT5OM5IWA/ |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=KIRO 7 News Seattle |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131083109/https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/controversial-hate-group-event-seattle-public-library-causes-firestorm/SHZT7665XZAYRNCV3FT5OM5IWA/ |url-status=live }} NBC has said it is "best known for its opposition to transgender rights".

The Women's Liberation Front's activism finds its source in second-wave feminist tendencies, such as those of Mary Daly and Janice Raymond, which consider transgender identities untrue and say that women are defined by "their biology, and by having 'survived girlhood'", rather than by gender identity.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/02/07/radical-feminists-conservatives-transgender-rights/|title=Conservatives find unlikely ally in fighting transgender rights: Radical feminists|date=February 7, 2020|accessdate=June 16, 2021|first=Schmidt|last=Samantha|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=August 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822031030/https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/02/07/radical-feminists-conservatives-transgender-rights/|url-status=live}} While considered a fringe group by the mainstream progressives, who say the group conceals an essentially discriminatory right-wing ideology under the guise of feminism, the organization has found influence through collaboration with conservative groups on shared legislative views.{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/003c71d6-b55c-11ea-8ecb-0994e384dffe|title=The front line of the new gender wars|first=Mark|last=Gevisser|date=June 27, 2020|accessdate=June 16, 2020|work=Financial Times|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627134011/https://www.ft.com/content/003c71d6-b55c-11ea-8ecb-0994e384dffe|url-status=live}}

Progressive and feminist organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)and the National Organization for Women (NOW){{cite web |date=25 July 2023 |title=Even if Bigots Insist it is, Waging a Hate Campaign Against Trans People is Not Feminist |url=https://now.org/blog/even-if-bigots-insist-it-is-waging-a-hate-campaign-against-trans-people-is-not-feminist/ |publisher=National Organization for Women}} challenge this characterization, with NOW describing WoLF, alongside Women's Declaration International, as "anti-trans bigots disguised as feminists".

Co-Chair Kara Dansky has stated her organization supports gay rights and abortion rights but that "on certain issues, such as gender identity, pornography and prostitution, WoLF finds that the left has pretty much sold out women".

In August 2016, WoLF filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration for its directive on Title IX permitting students to use bathrooms based on their reported gender identity.{{cite news |last=Haywood |first=Phaedra |date=August 12, 2016 |title=Radical feminists sue Obama administration in New Mexico court over bathroom directive |work=The Santa Fe New Mexican |url=http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local%20news/radical-feminists-sue-obama-administration-in-new-mexico-court-over/article/53f86667-80aa-58dd-8d8c-299ca8b533d1.html |access-date=March 7, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308024721/https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local%20news/radical-feminists-sue-obama-administration-in-new-mexico-court-over/article/53f86667-80aa-58dd-8d8c-299ca8b533d1.html |url-status=live }} In their filing, WoLF stated that the Obama administration equated the terms "sex" with "gender identity" without evidence, and that, by doing so, the administration contradicted the intent of Title IX. Following the election of Donald Trump, the directive was withdrawn. The suit ended in voluntary dismissal after WoLF withdrew from the suit in March 2017.{{cite web |last1=Joseph-Charles |first1=Saeeda |last2=Walz |first2=Mackenzie |title=Case: Women's Liberation Front v. U.S. Department of Justice |url=https://clearinghouse.net/case/15477/ |publisher=Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse |access-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-date=December 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208213103/https://clearinghouse.net/case/15477/ |url-status=live }}

WoLF has filed several amicus curiae briefs to the Supreme Court in opposition to transgender rights. WoLF partnered with the Family Policy Alliance (FPA) to file a joint brief in support of the plaintiff of G. G. v. Gloucester County School Board, opposing a lower court ruling in favor of Gavin Grimm, a trans boy who desired to use the boys' restroom at his high school. The organization also filed a brief in R. G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc., v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a landmark Supreme Court case involving the issue of whether the firing of transgender funeral director Aimee Stephens from Harris Funeral Homes constituted sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. WoLF's brief referred to Stephens as a man, and argued that sex should not be considered equivalent to gender identity;{{cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/amid-outcry-seattle-public-library-weighs-decision-to-provide-venue-for-radical-feminist-event-criticized-as-anti-trans/|title=Amid outcry, Seattle Public Library weighs decision to provide venue for "radical feminist" event criticized as anti-trans|date=December 9, 2019|accessdate=June 16, 2021|first=Crystal|last=Paul|work=Seattle Times|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614021248/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/amid-outcry-seattle-public-library-weighs-decision-to-provide-venue-for-radical-feminist-event-criticized-as-anti-trans/|url-status=live}} WoLF also organized rallies in opposition to Stephens' case outside the Supreme Court in October 2020.

In November 2021, WoLF filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation over its policy of permitting transgender, non-binary, and intersex prisoners to be detained in facilities corresponding to their gender identity.{{cite news |last1=Martinez |first1=Christian |title=Suit takes aim at law that lets transgender inmates choose housing based on gender identity |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-24/lawsuit-takes-aim-at-law-that-allows-transgender-inmates-to-choose-housing-location-based-on-gender-identity |access-date=March 9, 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 25, 2021 |archive-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309032655/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-24/lawsuit-takes-aim-at-law-that-allows-transgender-inmates-to-choose-housing-location-based-on-gender-identity |url-status=live }}

In 2016, WoLF received a $15,000 donation from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative Christian organization that opposes abortion and LGBT rights.{{Cite web |last=Norris |first=Sian |date=2021-09-30 |title=The Far-Right Co-Option of the Transgender Rights Issue |url=https://bylinetimes.com/2021/09/30/the-far-right-co-option-of-the-transgender-rights-issue/ |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Byline Times |language=en-GB |archive-date=2022-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221114042/https://bylinetimes.com/2021/09/30/the-far-right-co-option-of-the-transgender-rights-issue/ |url-status=live }}

In May 2017, WoLF partnered with the Hands Across the Aisle Coalition, Concerned Parents and Educators, and the Family Policy Alliance to submit a petition for rule-making to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, "to protect the safety and privacy of women in need of shelter due to homelessness or violence".{{cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f232ea74d8342386a7ebc52/t/5f2b1755105b13309f4d0484/1596659541814/HUD-Hands-Across-the-Aisle-Letter-to-HUD_dated-5-1-17.pdf |title=Petition for Rulemaking to Protect the Safety and Privacy of Women in Need of Shelter Due to Homelessness or Violence |date=May 1, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2021 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130212243/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f232ea74d8342386a7ebc52/t/5f2b1755105b13309f4d0484/1596659541814/HUD-Hands-Across-the-Aisle-Letter-to-HUD_dated-5-1-17.pdf |url-status=live }}

In 2019, three members of WoLF appeared on a panel with conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. The panel focused on the Equality Act, legislation pending in Congress that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Progressives criticized WoLF's participation in the panel, which included Jennifer Chavez reading "from a letter that described increased transgender visibility and acceptance as 'a social contagion all over the internet{{'"}}.

• Feminist views on transgender topics

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.womensliberationfront.org}}
• [https://twitter.com/womenslibfront @womenslibfront] on Twitter
• [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEkSy4TIzwjxc10-Smqa6Bw Women's Liberation Front] on YouTube
• [https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-107/112909/20190820130044873_WoLF%20Amicus%20Harris%20v%20EEOC%20as%20filed.pdf Brief of Amicus Curiae, Women's Liberation Front in Support of Petitioner], Supreme Court of the United States, August 2019

Category:2013 establishments in the United States

Category:Organizations established in 2013

Category:501(c)(3) organizations

Category:Feminism and transgender topics

Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in the United States

Category:Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States

Category:Organizations that oppose transgender rights in the United States

Category:Anti-gender movement