This week, Entertainment Weekly is releasing their first LGBT issue in 15 years, featuring actress Laverne Cox on the cover. In an interview, Cox speaks about the changing perspectives on gender identity and the transgender community in the United States, and also talks about her personal experiences as a part of this change, such as her becoming a spokeswoman for transgender issues worldwide. Additionally, Cox comments on Vanity Fair’s July 2015 cover, featuring Caitlyn Jenner, discussing the differences between coming out publicly and coming out in private.
In the past, Cox has spoken of media coverage that focuses solely on the transitioning aspect of being transgender, saying:
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.
Last year, Cox was also featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, with the title "The Transgender Tipping Point." This was intended to represent the current surge of changes in awareness and confidence in the transgender community, a surge that continues to be built upon as media exposure of people such as Cox and Caitlyn Jenner increases and diversifies.
With this type of media exposure increasing and awareness of the broader spectrum of transgender issues rising, Laverne Cox is helping to push the trans movement even further than it's gone before.
