Governor Maura Healey (D) has appointed a man who goes by the name Giselle Byrd (pictured above) as the new vice chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (MCSW) – its "first trans woman of color."
Even though the Democratic state is a liberal one, Tom Joyce of the NewBostonPost says the general reaction "hasn't been great."
The MCSW and the liberal media have been quick to jump to Byrd's defense, miscategorizing the original report about the appointment and framing the social controversy as rooted in "hate speech" and "violent rhetoric."
"The reacts on social media was all laugh reacts – laughing at the state, laughing at the liberal media," Joyce relays. "People don't like this."
The governor's defense is that former Gov. Charlie Baker (R) also appointed a male who identifies as a woman (Sara Schnorr) to the commission, but Joyce does not think that helps Gov. Healey's case.
"As far as I'm concerned, that's not really a good excuse," he tells AFN. "Charlie Baker … allowed boys to compete in girls' sports in Massachusetts for his eight years as governor and would perpetually get destroyed at U.S. Senate hearings about the transgender athlete issue. The fact that he ignored biological reality for a very long time is not a good rationale as to why others should do so."
Baker is now the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which adopted a new participation policy for student athletes in February that allows men to practice with women's teams and receive benefits like medical care, but they cannot compete in women's competition.
Anyone can participate in men's competitions, as long as they meet general eligibility rules.
"He's a spineless guy, and it took a federal executive order for him to actually do anything about males competing in NCAA sports," says Joyce, reiterating that his actions are no justification for Gov. Healey's.
He submits Healey’s decision reflects the direction of a state government that has increasingly aligned with activist groups on gender identity under the banner of "inclusion."
Critics, however, think the state should place the needs of women and girls, especially in a commission created specifically to advocate for them, over ideology.
