Women's-Only Smith College Awards Honorary Degree To Rachel Levine, A Trans-Identifying Male

Former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine was awarded an honorary degree and selected to deliver the commencement address at Smith College on Sunday.

There's just one problem with that: Smith College is a prestigious liberal arts school for women. Levine is a male.

Prior to being nominated by President Joe Biden in 2021, Rachel (born Richard) was Pennsylvania’s Health Secretary and a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine. In 2021, Levine became the first openly transgender four-star officer in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Here's what's really sinister: Levine specializes in pediatrics and adolescent medicine. And during his tenure in government, the Harvard and Tulane grad has been one of the loudest voices pushing so-called "gender-affirming care" for children — a euphemism for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and in some cases, double mastectomies on girls who aren’t even old enough to drive.

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In fact, Levine explicitly claimed such treatments are "medically necessary, safe, and effective for trans and non-binary youth."

In other words, he advocates for medical interventions that could permanently alter the bodies of young kids and confused teenagers. And this is who Smith College deemed worthy of honoring on a day meant to celebrate young women.

Women's College Awards Honorary Degree To Rachel (Richard) Levine

Ahead of the weekend's commencement, women's rights organizations, like Women's Declaration International, protested Smith College's decision, emphasizing the importance of sex-based protections.

"I understand the value of a woman-only education. Now, Smith is erasing the presence of women," said a protester, Jenna, who attended Smith College. "And if they wanted to include men, they should have made it a unisex college."

Of all the women in America — groundbreaking scientists, journalists, entrepreneurs, athletes, artists and first responders — Smith decided to celebrate a man. A man whose entire public persona hinges on the idea that womanhood is a costume you can put on. A man who has never had a period, never faced the real-life consequences of sexism and never navigated the challenges unique to the female experience.

A man who fathered two children and then, in his 40s, decided to grow out his hair, squeeze into some tights and demand we all succumb to his delusion.

Levine’s honorary degree reflects the same old story we've seen too many times now: the erasure of women under the guise of progress. We’re not supposed to question it. We're not even supposed to acknowledge it. We're supposed to sit down and clap — at our sporting events, at our award ceremonies and at our graduations — while our spaces are invaded and our achievements sidelined.

It's all so exhausting.

So just one quick question for Smith’s leadership: Did you get the pat on the back you were looking for?