Well, isn’t this a lovely way to end the week. After calls for Laverne Cox to make the Time 100 most influential people list only to be left unceremoniously out of the issue, the actress and activist roars back as its cover girl. In doing so she becomes the first transgender person to grace the magazine’s cover. And what grace. Laverne has skyrocketed into the national consciousness thanks to her role as inmate Sophia Burset on “Orange Is the New Black.” But what she has done with that spotlight is even more extraordinary. She has used her fame to shine a light directly onto trans issues and the all-too-frequent violence, hatred and misconceptions faced by the community. Refreshingly, what makes Sophia so important is that she is one of the few trans characters portrayed by a trans actor who isn’t solely the subject of constant harassment or ridicule. Because why would you ever ridicule Sophia or – even more so – Laverne? Indeed the most appropriate adjective I can think to describe her is majestic. Like this cover. Happy weekend, all.
I have always thought that the best thing about being a celebrity must be to be able bring attention to causes you believe in and Laverne does just that, it's about time people start caring about trans* issues
ReplyDeleteAnd also cannot wait for season 2 of OITNB
A very worthy weekend crush!
ReplyDeleteShe brings a poignancy to the show that would not exist without her authentic portrayal. As someone who admittedly has not spent much time considering the problems faced by trans people, she has put a very talented and beautiful face on the issue and humanized us all.
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