A Biden administration appointee who joined the elite ranks of USA Today’s “Women of the Year” is not a woman. The newspaper named Dr. Rac...
A Biden administration appointee who joined the elite ranks of USA Today’s “Women of the Year” is not a woman.
The newspaper named Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary of health in the Department of Health and Human Services, as one of the women it honored, even though Levine is male.
Levine, who identifies as a woman, became the first openly transgender official to be confirmed by the Senate last year.
Susan Rice, President Joe Biden’s hand-picked director of his Domestic Policy Council, gushed over the award.
“Congratulations to the trailblazing @HHS_ASH Admiral Rachel Levine on being named one of @USATODAY’s Women of the Year. Your leadership during this pandemic has been vital,” she tweeted.
The awards are an annual event. This year, the newspaper singled out Vice President Kamala Harris, gymnast Simone Biles, who withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, and Melinda French Gates as among its national honorees.
Levine is allowed to call himself “admiral” because the job he holds puts him in command of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The Biden administration has claimed that his appointment meant he is the first four-star admiral of the corps, according to CBS.
Some have said all the celebration of Levine is a bit much.
Levine insisted to the publication that women and girls are a major priority of his in terms of body image.
“We need to be welcoming and celebratory for women of all aspects, of all sizes and shapes,” he said, according to USA Today.
“And we have to work towards that compassion for all women and not put such an emphasis on thinness and appearance. I think that we need to work as a culture in the United States, but also globally, to be more compassionate and more accepting of girls and women, no matter what their size and shape,” he said.
Although not one himself, Levine said women are essential for society.
“Women are absolutely critical in terms of promoting healthy behaviors for themselves and their families and our communities,” Levine said.
“I think women are often the creators of change. In terms of the changes that we see in our society and our culture, I think that women are those change-makers,” he said.
Levine was asked for advice to transgendered individuals.
“I think you have to be true to yourself and I think that you have to be who you are. You have tremendous worth just for who you are, no matter who you love, no matter who you are, no matter what your gender identity, sexual orientation or anything else, and to be, be true to that. And then everything else will follow,” he said.
“It highlights something which I truly believe in, which is the value of diversity. Diversity is just so important in our culture. It’s important for our country, for the world. And I truly believe that diversity in all of the myriad and wonderful aspects that we see has positive benefits for any organization. Any governmental organization, any business, any school. And so we really need to welcome diversity and actually celebrate diversity for what it brings to us as a nation and what it brings to us globally,” he said.
No comments