Penn. Health Official Responds to Transphobic Harassment

Last week, it was reported that Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania's health secretary and who is transgender, has been on the receiving end of shaming on social media and in public. For instance, Associate Press reported that the Bloomsburg Fair "found itself in hot water after posting a photo of a man in a dunk tank who had donned a blond wig, floral-print dress and glasses." The Fair's social media post, which has since been deleted, was captioned with a smiley-face emoji, "Dr. Levine? Thank you you were a hit and raised a lot of money for the local fire companies. Wonder why so many were trying to dunk you."

This follows a series of transphobic comments and encounters directed specifically at Dr. Levine – Scott Township commissioner Paul Abel referred to Levine as "a guy dressed up like a woman"; a radio personality in Pittsburgh called the health secretary "sir" during an interview, and a Hellam administrator of recreation post a meme on social media stating "If you are ordered to wear a mask by a guy who wears a bra, you might be Pennsylvanian."

On Tuesday, Dr. Levine addressed the harassment at the beginning of a new briefing:

"I want to emphasize that while these individuals may think they are only expressing their displeasure with me, they are in fact hurting the thousands of LGBTQ Pennsylvanians who suffer directly from these current demonstrations of harassment... Your actions perpetuate a spirit of intolerance and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals and specifically transgender individuals.

"Transgender women of color continue to be not only harassed but are more likely to suffer violence and even murder. We have not made progress unless we have all made progress."

Dr. Levine reiterated the point on her twitter account:

Twitter reacted with support, including: