{"id":2522138,"date":"2025-12-17T11:51:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aclus-top-transgender-litigator-talks-of-compromise-amid-image-change\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:59:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:59:01","slug":"aclus-top-transgender-litigator-talks-of-compromise-amid-image-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aclus-top-transgender-litigator-talks-of-compromise-amid-image-change\/","title":{"rendered":"ACLU&#8217;s top transgender litigator talks of compromise amid image change"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Faclus-top-transgender-litigator-talks-of-compromise-amid-image-change%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2522138&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Chase Strangio, a leading transgender litigator for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), recently shifted from identifying as nonbinary to embracing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sam-smith-gets-tattoo-of-young-boy-in-underwear-and-heels-looking-in-mirror-as-nod-to-being-non-binary\/\" title=\"Sam Smith Gets Tattoo Of Young Boy In Underwear And Heels Looking In Mirror As Nod To Being \u2018Non-Binary\u2019\">binary gender identity<\/a>, now using he\/him pronouns. This change comes amid the ACLU&#8217;s legal battles over transgender rights, including efforts to have the federal government recognize nonbinary status on official documents. Following a significant Supreme Court defeat in a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >major transgender-related case involving gender-affirming care<\/a> for minors, Strangio has adopted a more moderate public stance, expressing willingness to engage in compromise, particularly on contentious issues like transgender participation in single-sex sports.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue this shift is a strategic retreat intended to soften the ACLU&#8217;s image adn maintain credibility amid growing legal setbacks and public skepticism about transgender ideology. Former allies note that Strangio&#8217;s past rhetoric was far more radical, openly challenging the sex binary and customary legal frameworks, with goals to destabilize biological categories of sex through litigation. However, recent interviews reveal a new emphasis on &#8220;compromise&#8221; and dialog, though some see this as primarily a tactical move to manage media narratives rather than a genuine change in ideology.<\/p>\n<p>The ACLU&#8217;s ongoing cases regarding transgender rights, including those on transgender athletes in school sports, remain at a critical juncture, with the Supreme Court poised to hear arguments. Observers suggest the ACLU is recalibrating its strategies, retreating from broader nonbinary advocacy while trying to preserve certain gains. Strangio&#8217;s evolving public persona reflects this broader strategic adjustment within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zachary-marschall-meloni-warns-italians-against-becoming-perfect-consumer-slaves-americans-are-already-there\/\" title=\"Zachary Marschall: Meloni Warns Italians Against Becoming &quot;Perfect Consumer Slaves.&quot; Americans Are Already There\">transgender rights movement<\/a> as it faces significant legal and political challenges.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">&lsquo;Retreat mode&rsquo;: ACLU&rsquo;s top transgender litigator talks of compromise amid image change<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2175603\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Chase Strangio, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/aclu\/\">American Civil Liberties Union<\/a>&lsquo;s go-to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/transgender\">transgender<\/a> lawyer for litigating its top <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/LGBT\/\">LGBT<\/a> cases before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Supreme-Court\">Supreme Court<\/a>, came out as binary-conforming after years of identifying as &ldquo;nonbinary,&rdquo; a term for someone who identifies as neither exclusively male nor female.<\/p>\n<p>Strangio&rsquo;s switch-up has raised eyebrows among opponents of gender ideology, especially as Strangio argues <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/docket\/docketfiles\/html\/public\/25a319.html\">another ACLU case<\/a> to force the federal government to recognize &ldquo;nonbinary&rdquo; status on identification documents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3923974\/bondi-beach-shooting-clearly-creates-concern-us-immigration-policy-byron-york\/\">Bondi Beach shooting &#8216;clearly&#8217; creates concern regarding US immigration policy: Byron York<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3923850\/vivek-ramaswamy-nick-fuentes-groyper-movement-identity-politics-right\/\">Ramaswamy warns Fuentes&#8217;s &#8216;Groyper&#8217; movement shows identity politics on the Right<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3923936\/gop-rebels-hakeem-jeffries-big-win-forcing-vote-obamacare-extensions\/\">Republican rebels hand Jeffries big win by forcing vote on Obamacare extensions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>As part of this apparent change, while speaking to the media, Strangio has also projected a new image as a peacemaker willing to reach across the political aisle. Strangio&rsquo;s adversaries have said this willingness is newfound as well and indicative of the transgender lobby&rsquo;s timely retreat in the wake of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3445518\/supreme-court-upholds-tennessee-ban-transgender-procedures-minors\/\">a crushing Supreme Court loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-no-longer-nonbinary\">No longer &lsquo;nonbinary&rsquo;?<\/h2>\n<p>A biological woman who, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/lgbtcenter.universitylife.upenn.edu\/the-scholars-in-residence-program\">until recently<\/a>, went by both &ldquo;he&rdquo; and &ldquo;they&rdquo; pronouns, Strangio began <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2020\/10\/19\/chase-strangios-victories-for-transgender-rights\">telling<\/a> the press in 2020 that while they identify as transgender and have since the mid-2000s, they do not see themselves solely as a man. At the time, Strangio said the sex binary &ldquo;serves to oppress us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/04\/opinion\/transgender-rights-strangio-douthat.html\">a recent interview<\/a> with the <em>New York Times<\/em>, Strangio noticeably embraced binary terminology.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about the biological distinctions between the two sexes, Strangio said what determines &ldquo;whether we are a boy or a girl&rdquo; is one&rsquo;s sense of self, as opposed to genitalia observed at birth.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I would say that a man or a woman is someone who understands in their core that they are a man or a woman,&rdquo; Strangio said in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=w-f_n9ou8vE\">a Dec. 4 episode<\/a> of the outlet&rsquo;s podcast <em>Interesting Times<\/em>, fittingly titled, &ldquo;The Shifting Politics of Transgender Rights.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"w-f_n9ou8vE\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Shifting Politics of Transgender Rights | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w-f_n9ou8vE?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>And on social media, Strangio now identifies as strictly male by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/chasestrangio\/\">listing<\/a> only &ldquo;he\/him&rdquo; pronouns. This is despite Instagram <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/help.instagram.com\/3936623839758564\">allowing<\/a> users to mix and match their pronouns, such as pairing singular possessives with the gender-neutral &ldquo;they\/them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-softening-tactic-to-mollify-the-media\">A softening tactic to &lsquo;mollify&rsquo; the media<\/h2>\n<p>Some legal observers see Strangio&rsquo;s sudden adherence to the sex binary, at least on the public front, as an attempt at damage control following a historic defeat at the highest court in the ACLU&rsquo;s child gender-medicine case, <em>United States v. Skrmetti<\/em>, which dealt a devastating blow to the maximalist wing of the transgender movement.<\/p>\n<p>Gender-critical attorney Glenna Goldis, a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/glennagoldis\/status\/1996711384340746255\">self-described<\/a> &ldquo;professor of Strangiology,&rdquo; who has closely been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/badfacts.substack.com\/p\/chase-strangios-legal-narrative\">documenting<\/a> Strangio&rsquo;s changing legal strategies, said Strangio seems to be reverting to a pre-<em>Skrmetti<\/em> playbook.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The ACLU&rsquo;s playbook from 2005 to 2024 was to make trans ideology sound scientific and compatible with the status quo,&rdquo; Goldis told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;It did this by suggesting gender identity is based in biology, not challenging a binary view of sex, and exaggerating the role of medical doctors in transition[ing]. Its legal arguments were slick and simplistic.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When the ACLU took on <em>Orr v. Trump<\/em>, its passport policy case, earlier this year, it departed from that playbook by suggesting that sex could mean different things in different contexts, Goldis said.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of the ACLU in <em>Orr<\/em>, Strangio is representing &ldquo;nonbinary&rdquo; clients who are suing the Trump administration, specifically the State Department, to be designated as such on government-issued travel documents, including U.S. passports, visas, and Global Entry cards.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the ACLU filed the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mad.280559\/gov.uscourts.mad.280559.1.0_2.pdf\">lawsuit<\/a> in February, months before the <em>Skrmetti<\/em> decision was handed down in June. Up until <em>Orr<\/em>, Goldis <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/glennagoldis\/status\/1891727479900946598\">pointed out<\/a>, the ACLU was strategically simplifying gender identity to male and female in court, intentionally making no mention of &ldquo;nonbinary&rdquo; status.<\/p>\n<p>Goldis said Strangio&rsquo;s &ldquo;buttoned-up&rdquo; interview with Ross Douthat suggests that the ACLU is withdrawing from the &ldquo;spikier approach&rdquo; it tried in <em>Orr<\/em> and returning to its old blueprint.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3451967\/why-the-transgender-movement-is-losing-traction-insiders-explain\/\"><strong>WHY THE TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT IS LOSING TRACTION, INSIDERS EXPLAIN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I suspect this gambit is aimed at impressing the media,&rdquo; Goldis said. &ldquo;It looks like the Supreme Court is going to rule against the ACLU in every trans case that it sees, so to maintain its credibility, the ACLU must stay in the <em>New York Times<\/em>&rsquo;s good graces.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The outlet, in the immediate aftermath of <em>Skrmetti<\/em>, published a scathing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/19\/magazine\/scotus-transgender-care-tennessee-skrmetti.html\">piece<\/a> analyzing what went wrong for the pro-transgender side. In it, the outlet&rsquo;s political correspondent, Nicholas Confessore, found that the case was &ldquo;built on flawed politics&rdquo; and fueled by &ldquo;theories of sex and gender that most voters didn&rsquo;t grasp or support.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That postmortem analysis, Goldis said, spurred the ACLU, and its de facto spokesperson Strangio, to take a more moderate tone on transgender matters.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-questionable-talks-of-compromise-during-a-vulnerable-time-for-the-aclu\">Questionable talks of compromise during a vulnerable time for the ACLU<\/h2>\n<p>Strangio &ldquo;appears to be in retreat mode,&rdquo; agreed Kara Dansky, a former ACLU attorney and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/karadansky.substack.com\/p\/the-aclus-chase-strangio-is-in-retreat\">author<\/a> of <em>The TERF Report<\/em>, a Substack newsletter dedicated to feminist content.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2882383\/what-is-a-terf-and-why-does-it-matter-in-todays-political-climate\/\">WHAT IS A TERF, AND WHY DOES IT MATTER IN TODAY&rsquo;S POLITICAL CLIMATE?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Strangio also mentioned compromise and constructive discourse with the women&rsquo;s rights resistance in the interview.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m in favor of talking about compromise,&rdquo; Strangio said when referring to barring biological boys from competing as girls in school sports, adding later on, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been open to dialogue.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is new, brand new,&rdquo; Dansky said of Strangio&rsquo;s peacenik persona. &ldquo;Before that interview, Strangio had never indicated even the slightest interest in making peace.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Dansky pointed to Strangio&rsquo;s past derogatory remarks aimed at her. In 2019, Strangio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.karadansky.com\/read\/questions-for-gq-magazine-and-the-aclu\">accused<\/a> Dansky, formerly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/bio\/kara-dansky\">senior counsel<\/a> at the ACLU&rsquo;s Center for Justice, of using her ACLU credentials to &ldquo;legitimize her violent vision for trans death.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is hardly suggestive of wanting to make peace,&rdquo; Dansky, a lifelong Democrat who has never voted for President Donald Trump, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attorney and transgender rights activist Chase Strangio speaks to supporters outside of the Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To Dansky, Strangio&rsquo;s current position on single-sex sports is a total about-face, perhaps laying the groundwork for the ACLU&rsquo;s two Supreme Court cases, <em>Little v. Hecox<\/em> and <em>West Virginia v. B.P.J.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Strangio&rsquo;s softening rhetoric about the goals of the transgender movement comes at a critical juncture for the ACLU, whose transgender sports cases, <em>Hecox<\/em> and <em>B.P.J.<\/em>, are <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3884767\/supreme-court-hear-arguments-transgender-sports-cases-january\/\">about to be heard<\/a> back-to-back by the Supreme Court on Jan. 13.<\/p>\n<p>Though nearly identical, <em>Hecox<\/em> was brought by an adult man on estrogen, targeting an Idaho law that mandates single-sex sports throughout the state, whereas <em>B.P.J.<\/em>, which challenges a similar West Virginia statute, centers on a minor male whose puberty was medically suppressed. Ahead of oral arguments in January, the ACLU has moved, and subsequently failed, to withdraw its initial complaint in the Idaho case and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-38\/373555\/20250903153854015_Hecox%20Suggestion%20of%20Mootnes%20Appendix.pdf\">asked<\/a> the Supreme Court to dismiss the matter entirely.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3793256\/aclu-attempts-to-yank-transgender-sports-case-from-supreme-court-docket\/\"><strong>ACLU ATTEMPTS TO YANK TRANSGENDER SPORTS CASE FROM SUPREME COURT DOCKET<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As to why the ACLU considers <em>Hecox<\/em> moot, Dansky speculated that the ACLU knows it cannot convince a conservative-majority Supreme Court that fully formed adult male athletes should be considered women simply for declaring so or because they suppress their testosterone levels via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/very-complicated-dr-rachel-levine-dodges-sen-pauls-issue-about-sex-adjustments-for-children\/\" title=\"\u2018Very Complicated\u2019: Dr. Rachel Levine Dodges Sen. Paul\u2019s Issue About ... Adjustments For Children\">cross-sex hormones<\/a>. However, in <em>B.P.J.<\/em>, the ACLU may be able to assert, with less pushback, that underdeveloped males can compete in female-only sports if they had their puberty blocked beforehand.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why it wants the Idaho case to go away, but is holding on to the West Virginia case,&rdquo; Dansky explained.<\/p>\n<p>Dansky said the ACLU must have thought it had a winning strategy because of Justice Neil Gorsuch&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/19pdf\/17-1618_hfci.pdf\">2020 opinion<\/a> in <em>Bostock v. Clayton County<\/em>, which ruled that differential treatment based on someone&rsquo;s &ldquo;transgender status&rdquo; is a form of sex discrimination in the workplace. Since then, the ACLU has prevailed in numerous court battles related to so-called transgender rights, often citing <em>Bostock<\/em> as case law, despite it only addressing workplace discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that before the 2025 decision in <em>Skrmetti<\/em>, it counted on continuing its winning streak,&rdquo; Dansky said. &ldquo;And they were winning <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3900403\/trump-starting-to-see-wins-in-transgender-court-battles\/\">until they weren&rsquo;t<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Goldis&nbsp;noted&nbsp;that&nbsp;<em>Orr&nbsp;<\/em>is&nbsp;still snaking through the lower courts. The Trump administration will face long odds at the appellate level since it is in the pro-trans 1st Circuit, Goldis said, but it can be appealed to the Supreme Court, where the legal fight would fall under the media glare.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;How far will the ACLU go to keep their abandoned experiment off center-stage?&rdquo; Goldis quipped.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen whether the ACLU will ultimately ditch its pending passport case as another lost cause. On Nov. 6, the Supreme Court <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/25a319_i4dj.pdf\">sided<\/a> with the Trump administration on a procedural dispute in <em>Orr<\/em>, allowing the U.S. government to issue passports containing biologically accurate sex markers <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3445224\/judge-ruling-blocks-trump-transgender-passport-policy\/\">as the appellate process plays out<\/a>. It has not yet ruled on the underlying legal battle.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3878384\/supreme-court-hands-trump-a-win-on-passport-biological-sex-rule\/\"><strong>SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP A WIN ON PASSPORT BIOLOGICAL SEX RULE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some onlookers surmise that the ACLU is aware that it pivoted too prematurely to championing nonbinary-ism, considered the next frontier of the war on sex for gender-expansionists.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s beginning to dawn on them that they moved too quickly to persuade everyone on the face of the planet that sex isn&rsquo;t real,&rdquo; Dansky said, &ldquo;or that if it is real, it&rsquo;s less important than people&rsquo;s made-up &lsquo;gender identities.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On whether the tide is turning, Goldis thinks that the ACLU is merely trying to &ldquo;mollify&rdquo; the <em>New York Times<\/em>, which is read by a largely liberal audience, in light of Confessore&rsquo;s criticisms.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Strangio hasn&rsquo;t made any meaningful concessions to her opponents,&rdquo; Goldis said. &ldquo;The only substantive point she pretends to have shifted on is protecting girls&rsquo; sports.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the post-<em>Skrmetti <\/em>appearance on Douthat&rsquo;s podcast, Strangio said, &ldquo;I do accept that sex-separated sports is an important part of preserving women&rsquo;s opportunity in sports right now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;First, what is a woman?&rdquo; Goldis countered. &ldquo;Second, she says &lsquo;right now.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Third,&rdquo; she continued, &ldquo;even if Strangio is ceding that some sex separation in sports is OK, that&rsquo;s an empty concession because it&rsquo;s going to happen no matter what the ACLU does. President Trump is on the warpath against schools that make girls compete against boys, and the Supreme Court will back him up. The idea of mixed-sex school athletics only got as far as it did because President Biden refused to enforce Title IX appropriately.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/3439423\/clearing-up-confusion-biden-title-ix-rewrite\/\"><strong>CLEARING UP THE CONFUSION SOWN BY BIDEN&rsquo;S REWRITE OF TITLE IX<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Goldis suspects that Strangio is only calling for compromise as a tactic to make the opposition seem unreasonable.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in the interview with Douthat, Strangio described feeling &ldquo;very hesitant&rdquo; to call things transphobic &ldquo;without having an opportunity to try to have conversations,&rdquo; insisting, &ldquo;I want to understand where people&rsquo;s anxieties are. I want to find places where we might agree.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Dansky said Strangio is simultaneously positioning the transgender side as sensible.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People who champion &lsquo;trans&rsquo; know they&rsquo;re starting to lose both in actual court and in the court of public opinion,&rdquo; Dansky said. &ldquo;So they have to revert to &lsquo;reasonableness.&rsquo; That means acknowledging that women have a right to female-only sports, while maintaining that men and boys who have had their puberty blocked have a right to be in them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-strangio-unmasked\">Strangio unmasked<\/h2>\n<p>In the same vein, Strangio is pretending to be binary, Goldis <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/glennagoldis\/status\/1996711384340746255\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Strangio has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.city-journal.org\/article\/aclu-lawsuit-trump-transgender-executive-order\">a reputation<\/a> for adapting a public image to whatever the moment demands, even if it is not exactly aligned with a nonbinary worldview, critics say.<\/p>\n<p>Goldis <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/glennagoldis\/status\/1882301816790290877\">noted<\/a> that when Strangio argued before the Supreme Court, marking the first time an openly transgender-identifying person presented arguments in front of the high court, Strangio went by &ldquo;Mr. Strangio,&rdquo; a gendered title, instead of the nonbinary honorific &ldquo;Mx,&rdquo; an ambiguous form of address often used by nonbinary people, with the &ldquo;X&rdquo; symbolizing a wildcard character.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3249489\/supreme-court-preferred-honorific-first-transgender-lawyer\/\"><strong>SUPREME COURT USES PREFERRED HONORIFIC FOR FIRST-EVER TRANSGENDER LAWYER IN ARGUMENTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>However, Strangio has discussed wanting to abolish the sex binary altogether. In fact, it&rsquo;s a long-held objective. Strangio&rsquo;s admitted agenda, the end goal of all this litigation, is to &ldquo;destabilize&rdquo; the biological categories of sex through lawfare.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When I litigate these cases&hellip;my hope is that we can sort of destabilize the assumptions about our bodies and, in turn, the spaces that are supposed to be responsive to them,&rdquo; Strangio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/umedia.lib.umn.edu\/item\/p16022coll97:222\">told<\/a> the University of Minnesota&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lib.umn.edu\/collections\/special\/tretter\/transgender-oral-history-project\">Transgender Oral History Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In that 2020 interview, Strangio acknowledged the goal of overhauling how civil rights law sees sex.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I think we are starting to see some of that, where we&rsquo;re starting to see courts say things like, &lsquo;this notion of biological sex is arbitrary, that you can&rsquo;t divide people neatly into categories, you can&rsquo;t shunt people off into separate spaces just because they don&rsquo;t fit into categories,&rsquo;&rdquo; Strangio said. &ldquo;And so hopefully there&rsquo;ll be a way to start to really think about, &lsquo;Well, how, is there a way the law can be used to start to destabilize the categories themselves?&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Strangio has maintained this anti-binary mindset in public until quite recently. In April, Strangio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.culturedmag.com\/article\/2025\/04\/22\/trans-lawyer-chase-strangio-cole-escola\/\">told<\/a> <em>Cultured<\/em> magazine, &ldquo;What I tell myself every day is that the confusing, unsettling nature of transness for other people is the thing that will spark the revolution we need. It&rsquo;s the uncertainty, the inbetweenness, the traversing of binaries that we offer that&rsquo;s gonna destabilize the whole thing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During the discussion with the University of Minnesota, Strangio indicated that when picking plaintiffs for transgender cases, the ACLU tends to stick to binary conformists, or people who simply want to be treated as the opposite sex, rather than outright dismantle the sex categories.<\/p>\n<p>Strangio&rsquo;s radical aspirations of breaking the sex binary, even if shared by ACLU colleagues, are not as palatable to the transgender movement&rsquo;s more moderate allies, who can wrap their minds around men wanting to become women, and vice versa, but may stop short of accepting that someone identifies as something other than entirely male or female.<\/p>\n<p>Expressing discontent, Strangio criticized this strategy of working within a binary framework.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We can convince ourselves that, &lsquo;Oh, once we get into those [sex-segregated] spaces, we start to break them down.&rsquo; But that&rsquo;s also what we said about marriage. &lsquo;Oh, let queers in, and we&rsquo;ll blow it up from the inside,&rsquo; That did not happen,&rdquo; Strangio said.<\/p>\n<p>Strangio believes that marriage is fundamentally a &ldquo;violent institution.&rdquo; When the Senate moved toward passing the Respect for Marriage Act, a 2022 marriage equality bill, Strangio took to Instagram <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/ClCm56jOuFU\/\">to say<\/a>, &ldquo;I feel an inexplicable amount of rage witnessing the Senate likely overcome the filibuster to vote to codify marriage rights for same-sex couples.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chase Strangio attends the 28th annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera\/Invision\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;A significant part of my career has (begrudgingly) been devoted to marriage-related litigation,&rdquo; Strangio lamented. &ldquo;I find it disappointing how much time and resource went into fighting for inclusion in the deeply flawed and fundamentally violent institution of civil marriage.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/boysvswomen\/status\/1906795927664222234\">a 2021 &ldquo;manifesto&rdquo;<\/a> on gender, Strangio said the binary categories of sex are &ldquo;colonial and supremacist&rdquo; in nature.<\/p>\n<p>Strangio&rsquo;s disregard for the sex class harkens back to a declaration that Strangio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/think\/opinion\/protecting-trans-rights-chase-strangio-podcast-transcript-ncna1049541\">made<\/a> in a 2019 interview with NBC&rsquo;s Chris Hayes: &ldquo;I am a civil rights and constitutional lawyer, who fundamentally doesn&rsquo;t believe in the Constitution and the legal system.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Critics have noted that despite such radical rhetoric, Strangio has ascended to a top position at a storied institution.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting to note that the ACLU didn&rsquo;t rein Strangio in for many years, even when she was dumping on gay marriage and the Constitution,&rdquo; commented Goldis. &ldquo;Instead, it promoted her. Anthony Romero [head of the ACLU] must have thought her provocative behavior benefited the ACLU.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Still, in the University of Minnesota interview, Strangio acknowledged that the ACLU&rsquo;s legal warfare is successfully obfuscating what it means to be a woman, away from its biological definition.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3909280\/lawfare-targeting-trumps-gender-order-threatens-protected-status-for-women\/\"><strong>LAWFARE TARGETING TRUMP&rsquo;S GENDER ORDER THREATENS PROTECTED STATUS FOR WOMEN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Even though the binary is existing in the work that we&rsquo;re doing, and we&rsquo;re talking about, &lsquo;Oh, trans women are women,&rsquo; and thereby reifying the category of woman,&rdquo; Strangio remarked, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re also sort of destabilizing it at the same time by saying, &lsquo;Well, what do we mean, when, and why?&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> contacted Strangio for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Retreat mode&#8217;: ACLU&#8217;s lead trans lawyer shifts to binary identity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3767,"featured_media":2522139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Chase-Strangio-Supreme-Court-2.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5196,7304,4784,35159],"class_list":["post-2522138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-aclu","tag-compromise","tag-litigation","tag-transgender-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Chase-Strangio-Supreme-Court-2.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522138"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522142,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522138\/revisions\/2522142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}