Shape of things to come

Transgender Doctor To Be Biden’s Assistant Health Secretary

 

Ritchie Allen,

20 January, 2021

Incoming US President Joe Biden has chosen Rachel Levine as his assistant secretary of health. Levine would be the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate. Levine previously coordinated Pennsylvania’s Covid-19 response and created Penn State Hershey Medical Centre’s adolescent medicine division and eating disorders clinic. She transitioned in 2011 and divorced her ex-wife (also a doctor) in 2013. She has also served on the board of Equality Pennsylvania, a state-wide gay rights group.

“Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.” Levine’s nomination follows hot on the heels of Biden naming Pete Buttigieg as his pick to lead the Department of Transportation. If confirmed, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would be the first openly gay member of a presidential Cabinet to be confirmed by the Senate. The new White House will be woke if nothing else.

Levine’s nomination will not go down well with feminists and women’s rights groups. She supports the rights of trans women and girls to enter female-only spaces and believes that transgender students should use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity. Two years ago, in a discussion about adolescent health in Pennsylvania, Levine said “The brave new world of gender, particularly for young people, are individuals who do not accept that binary of male or female in any way,” 

The Trump administration had banned trans people joining the army and told schools not to allow trans students to participate in sports corresponding to their gender identity. Biden has committed to reversing those policies and has pledged to work to end what he calls an “epidemic” of violence against transgender people, particularly transgender women of colour. But that’s not enough for some advocates. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a trans woman who worked for Barack Obama in LGBQT outreach, wants Biden to appoint the first non-binary person to a cabinet role. “I would expect it” she said.