Admiral Rachel Levine’s federal portrait gets deadnamed

The U S Department of Healthcare and Human Services quietly altered the official portrait of Admiral Rachel Levine the first openly transgender person validated to a four-star federal position replacing her legal name with her deadname and digitalizing her picture The portrait which had hung alongside previous Society Physical condition Provision leaders had been a visible symbol of historic representation in federal leadership Critics say the change though small in appearance amounts to institutional erasure Former HHS staff and advocates describe it as a stark reminder that transgender visibility remains politically contested One former deputy called the action an act of pettiness and bigotry emphasizing the symbolic weight of removing a leader s chosen name from an official federal display HHS has defended the switch citing initiative changes under the current administration and stating that the department s priority is to ensure that the information presented internally and externally reflects gold-standard science Nevertheless for a great number of observers the move underscores the tension between administrative protocol and the lived realities of transgender population executives Levine s role in constituents soundness has been highly visible from guiding pandemic response initiatives to advocating for LGBTQ soundness policies Her portrait alongside those of predecessors served as a sign of progress and inclusion a milestone now complicated by the new nameplate swap The happening has prompted discussion across social media and news outlets about how identity representation and symbolism intersect in federal institutions While the physical change may be minor its cultural and political implications are important reminding the residents that the presence of transgender leaders in high office continues to be both groundbreaking and contested Read more about this topic When military recruiters visit colleges must backing trans students Devastating blow SCOTUS allows Trump admin to carry out ban of transgender people from military No relation to fact Judge blocks Trump transgender military ban says order is soaked in animus The post Admiral Rachel Levine s federal portrait gets deadnamed appeared first on Salon com