Courts are so ingrained in politically correct language that they even express irritation when a party departs from it. Consider, for example, the decision in Stark v. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., 587 F. Supp. 2d 170 (D.D.C. Nov. 21, 2008).

This decision dismissed an action in defamation because there was lack of proof of “actual malice” about a limited-purpose public figure. The Court provided examples of “actual malice” as “when a publication is ‘fabricated’ or ‘so inherently improbable that only a reckless man would have put [it] in circulation.’” (citing Tavoulareas v. Piro, 260 U.S. App. D.C. 39, 817 F.2d 762, 790 (D.C. Cir. 1987)). In ruling in favor of the defendant sorority against a defamation claim, the Court found nothing “remotely similar” to that high level of proof required. This decision is helpful to those who are threatened with defamation for speaking out about against a public figure, or against a private figure who has become a “limited purpose” public figure for the purposes of the comments at issue.

This decision is also noteworthy for its insistence on politically correct language. This Court complained that the sorority used the title “Grand Basileus” rather than “Grand Basilissa” for its leader, a woman. “Why ZPB has a Grand Basileus and not a Grand Basilissa is a mystery not explained by the record. The only historical example we could find of a woman using the title Basileus was Empress Irene of Athens (752-803), who waged war on, defeated, blinded, and imprisoned her son Constantine VI but was later overthrown, exiled to the island of Lesbos, and forced to support herself by spinning for the rest of her life.”

Many fraternities and sororities use Greek titles from antiquity. The title “Basileus” was used by Greek rulers, and also by rulers in the eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire. Today “basileus” means someone who rules or commands. In one definition probably appreciated by the fraternities and sororities, “basileus” is described as the “swayer of the universe.”

But “basilissa” is merely a modern feminization of the term. It is not recognized as widely, or as precisely, because one might falsely infer from its use the existence of a counterpart who is the basileus. When the title of basileus is used to describe a woman, then there is no ambiguity that she is indeed the “swayer of the universe” in that organization.

Other feminizations of titles, such as “Chairwoman”, are likewise unhelpful to the bearer of the title. Ms. Alice Sturgis, who developed the popular modern code for parliamentary procedure, noted and approved that “Chairman is the traditional form and is used by Congress, most state legislatures, and most associations ….” (4th Ed., p. 247.)

The Court was right about its definition of “actual malice,” but wrong about its criticism of the title “Grand Basileus” for a woman.