Laverne Cox: The Embodiment of Intersectionality
Many of you probably recognize Laverne Cox from her popular role as Sophia Burset in Orange Is The New Black. While Laverne is absolutely extraordinary in that role, she is also an extremely important feminist and social justice icon for a numerous amount of reasons apart from her acting career.
First, not only is Laverne a woman of color, but she is also a transgender woman. She uses this intersectionality to promote equality and to expose the inequality that still exists. With that being said, it is important that more light be shed on Laverne’s role and accomplishments as a social justice advocate, rather than only knowing her by her work as an actress.
“I do feel there is a preoccupation with that [genital augmentation]. The preoccupation with transition and surgery objectifies trans people. And then we don’t get to really deal with the real lived experiences. The reality of trans people’s lives is that so often we are targets of violence. We experience discrimination disproportionately to the rest of the community. Our unemployment rate is twice the national average; if you are a trans person of color, that rate is four times the national average. The homicide rate is highest among trans women. If we focus on transition, we don’t actually get to talk about those things.”
While it’s easy to go on forever about how influential and extraordinary Laverne is, I’ll save you from reading virtually an entire novel and compile a list of some of her accomplishments:
- She is the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show (her role as Sophia Burset in OITNB)
- Time Magazine deemed her character, Sophia Burset, the 4th most influential fictional character of 2013.
- In 2014, she was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sophia Burset in OITNB, making her the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy
- She is the first transgender woman of color to produce and star in her own television show (VH1’s TRANSForm Me), and the show was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award
- She is the first transgender woman of color to appear on an American reality TV show (VH1’s I Wanna Work for Diddy), which she accepted an Outstanding Reality Program GLAAD Award for
- Her critical writing pieces have been published in The Huffington Post and The Advocate
- Her discussions on the harms of gender expectations have been aired on national TV/radio networks as widespread and well regarded as: CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NPR, HLN, VH1, FOX NEWS LATINO, and multiple others
- She was named in Out Magazine’s “Out 100”
- She was named as one of the country’s top 50 transgender icons by The Huffington Post
- She was chosen as the 2013 Anti-Violence Project Courage Award honoree
- In November 2013, she was the recipient of the Reader’s Choice Award at the Out Magazine ’s “OUT100” Gala
- She was named the 2014 Glamour Magazine “Woman of the Year”
- In 2014, she was listed in the annual Root 100; which is a list that honors “standout black leaders, innovators and culture shapers” who are aged 45 and younger
- She was ranked #1 in The Guardian’s 2014 annual World Pride Power List; a list that ranks all of the most influential LGBT people in the world
- She was included on the 2014 EBONY Power 100 list
- She is the executive producer and host of a MTV documentary called “The T Word,” which brings attention to transgender issues by taking viewers inside the lives of 7 transgender teens from across the country
- In 2014, she was the first openly transgender person ever to be on the cover of Time Magazine, where she was interviewed for “The Transgender Tipping Point,” the article that was featured on her cover
Laverne’s speech at Creating Change 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cytc0p4Jwg
Laverne on transgender equality at the 2014 Glamour Women of the Year Awards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-QLZkq5khI