Orange is the New Black star and trans icon Laverne Cox defended the humanity of the trans community in an interview with Hollywood Life. The 49-year-old actress is horrified by the waves of anti-trans legislation proposed this year and says the key to overturning these discriminatory bills is “fully seeing and respecting trans people.”
“Once we can accept that trans people are who we say we are, and that our humanity should be respected, then I think all of the policies that we see being passed in my country, in the United States, that are affecting trans youth, we won’t pass laws like that anymore,” Cox says.
So far, in 2021, more than 100 anti-trans bills have been proposed across the country, and 17 of those have become law. In many states including Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cox’s home state of Alabama, bills criminalizing trans healthcare or banning trans youth from sports have already passed, with even more discriminatory legislation still on the docket.
Cox has been an outspoken advocate for trans rights for almost a decade, and won the GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award in 2014 for her activism. In the same year, she became the first trans woman ever to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine. She continues to be a pivotal voice in the fight for trans rights. “I think it’s about acknowledging our humanity, and that we are who we say we are,” Cox shares with Hollywood Life.
With the flagrant and harmful attacks on the rights of trans youth, Cox wants to uplift LGBTQ kids everywhere. ““It was so exciting and brought me so much joy to know that trans kids today can see someone like them represented in entertainment, in government, and anywhere they want to be,” she says. “I hope my story helps them feel empowered to reach for their dreams and fight for what is right.”
