Washington University pressuring students to ‘deny biology,’ conform to radical gender ideology, AFL says

New documents obtained from Washington University in St. Louis suggest students are being brainwashed with ideological training that goes far beyond education.

America First Legal (AFL) released the materials, arguing they reveal an institutional effort to redefine biological sex, enforce radical gender ideology and pressure students to comply rather than question what they are being taught.

According to AFL, the documents come from internal class materials and training sessions used by the university. They show WashU promoting what it calls “infinite pronouns,” including terms such as “ze” and “hir,” while instructing students to “sit in discomfort” if they disagree.

Debate isn’t encouraged at WashU in these matters and resistance is treated as a problem to be corrected, according to AFL.

“This is ideological coercion,” AFL counsel Megan Redshaw says in a press release. “Washington University is compelling students to deny biology, parrot approved speech, and submit to radical gender theory. Universities are supposed to pursue truth through learning, not conformity.”

Imagine paying thousands of dollars for college tuition — only to be taught “infinite pronouns” and mandatory “allyship” instead of biology and critical thinking.

That’s exactly what’s happening at WashU. https://t.co/hpeNij9WtK

— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) January 18, 2026

The materials describe gender as something that overrides biological sex and presents sex itself as fluid and changeable.

One training graphic uses a “trans umbrella” to group together genderqueer, agender, gender fluid, trans masculine and trans feminine identities, along with cross-dressers, drag performers and so called “Two Spirit” identities.

Students are taught that using preferred pronouns is mandatory, not optional. Compliance is framed as a virtue, while dissent is portrayed as harmful or discriminatory.

Now, even spaces that have always been just for women, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, are being labeled as “exclusionary” for not mixing the sexes.

At WashU, gender ideology isn’t presented as a contested theory but as settled fact, AFL claims. Students are expected to accept it, repeat it and internalize it, regardless of personal belief or scientific reality.

AFL’s investigation into Washington University is ongoing, but the documents raise serious questions about parental rights, academic freedom and the role of elite institutions in shaping political and social beliefs.

Such radical gender ideology was on full display last week in a moment involving a senator from the very state where Washington University operates.

During a Senate hearing, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley asked Dr. Nisha Verma, an OB-GYN and abortion activist, a basic question rooted in biological reality: “Can men get pregnant?”