(The Lion) — Governor Maura Healey has appointed a biologically male transgender activist to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, a state-run body presenting itself as a voice for women and girls.
The move has drawn withering criticism from faith-based groups that say the state is moving further away from recognizing biological reality.
Healey selected Giselle Byrd, a biological male who identifies as a woman, to serve as a commissioner. Byrd also works as executive director of the Theater Offensive in Boston, and has held roles in LGBTQ advocacy organizations. The commission announced the appointment in August alongside another Healey appointee.
Commission Chairwoman Mary-dith Tuitt praised the new commissioners.
“These leaders bring a fresh perspective to the work of the MCSW with a diverse range of personal and professional experience,” she said in a release, adding their involvement “will only enhance the commission’s ability to focus on our mission and agenda to impact change for all women and girls across the Commonwealth.”
The Massachusetts Family Institute, a family values public policy group, said the appointment shows how far state institutions have drifted from a basic understanding of womanhood.
“Maura Healey APPOINTS biological MAN to State Commissioner of prominent state-funded ‘women’s rights’ organization!” the group wrote in a Facebook post.
It argued this result “is the logical conclusion of feminism in Massachusetts society.”
The post concluded the state has “rejected God’s perfect design for marriage and sexuality” and said Byrd is “wearing the female form like a Halloween costume.”
“Our state thought that when we threw God out of the public square, we would become more sophisticated and advanced,” MFI wrote. “Instead, we bought a regressive lie masquerading as progressive truth.”
The MCSW was created in 1998 and has focused on policy issues involving women and girls. Its mission statement says it promotes “fundamental freedoms, basic human rights and the full enjoyment of life for all women and girls.”
The commission lists gender identity among the categories it protects, which has led critics to argue the agency now treats self-identification as more meaningful than biological sex.
Healey’s decision reflects the direction of state government, where leadership has increasingly aligned with activist groups on gender identity.
While supporters frame this as inclusion, critics say the state has placed ideology over the needs of women and girls, especially in a commission created specifically to advocate for them.
