Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health in the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), hosted a transgender activist who promoted cross-sex surgeries during an interview and musical performance as part of an HHS Pride Month series.
Ryan Cassata, who is female and identifies as a transgender man, criticized state legislation restricting cross-sex medical interventions and claimed youth who believe they’re transgender were being bullied by legislators and by their parents. The interview, which was the first episode of an HHS YouTube series titled Summer of Pride, featured a song from Cassata about transgender activism and legislation restricting cross-sex procedures. (RELATED: ‘We’re Affirming That They Should Hate Themselves’: Doctor Says Support For Gender Transitions Drives Youth Suicides)
“I am a singer, songwriter, and a transgender activist. I play a lot of protest songs to help the transgender liberation movement, and I started my activism when I was 13 years old after getting bullied pretty severely in middle school when I first came out,” Cassata said. “We need to do everything we can right now so that trans youth can access the care that they need and they deserve. I know that this is lifesaving care that is on the line.”
“Absolutely,” Levine replied.
Cassata claimed the regret rate for cross-sex surgeries was 1% and said this needed to be at the center of conversations on the procedures.
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“I’m 29 years old now, and when I was 14 years old, I knew that I needed top surgery in order to continue living, really. I was extremely depressed. My mental health was suffering, extreme. And I had to wait until I was 18 to get my surgery,” Cassata said. “For most people, waiting is not a possibility and that is really a threat to someone’s life.”
Cassata sang a song offering encouragement to transgender people who feel threatened by restrictions on cross-sex medical procedures.
“They said, come share your story. Come on, say one thing that you wish you knew. All the wisdom from you nowadays, from the marches and the pride parades,” Cassata sang. “How’d you stay so patient when the laws attack? What about this legislation? Will my family embrace it? Will they have my back? Hold on, hold on, you belong, you belong. I once was scared like you. And the going, it gets easier the longer you stay true. It’s just something people like us get used to.”
Throughout the interview Levine echoed Cassata’s statements and praised the Biden administration for embracing Pride Month and promoting LGBT causes.
“Happy Pride Month,” Levine said. “And actually, let’s declare it a Summer of Pride. Happy Summer of Pride. It’s so important to have Pride as a celebration for our LGBTQI+ community and to recognize how far we have come, but also how much work we have left to do.”
The HHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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