Laverne Cox is emerging as the transgender voice of a generation, tackling the tough issues and representing an entire community in the way that trans pioneers before her — as products of their time — were never able to do.
The celebrated Orange Is the New Black actress and trans advocate appeared on Katie Couric’s show again this week for her first interview since the light controversy that spawned in the wake of her last visit. In January, Couric was lambasted on social media for asking Cox and Carmen Carrera insensitive questions about transitional surgery, even after she was informed that it was an offensive thing to do.
“The preoccupation with transition and surgery objectifies trans people,” Cox said in her January interview. “And then we don’t get to really deal with the real lived experiences.”
In a perfectly flaw-free interview (her second this week), Cox revisited the controversy to really drive home this “teachable moment” Couric so desperately wants. “Last time you were here, I got a lot of flack because I asked about the physical process [of transition],” said Couric.
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“It’s only a mistake if you make it twice,” Cox responded.
Cox goes on to say that she believes the “transgender tipping point” is due in part to social media. “We have a voice now,” she says. “There are so many amazing trans folks out there who are telling their stories [right now]…I think when we get to know folks as human beings, our misconceptions about people who are different than us melt away.”
Check out the full interview below:
h/t BuzzFeed
RayJacksonMs
Didn’t Wendy Williams ask the same question?
chinadad
“It’s only a mistake if you make it twice”. Wow! What graciousness. I’m going to try to incorporate that pearl of wisdom into my life.
Perfida Limpin
What I love about Laverne Cox is her lack of bitterness; she is a kind soul. Yes, she has something to say but it’s not all about her. (Pay attention: Carmen Carrera, Parket Molloy, et. al.)
ontheupandup
@Perfida Limpin: You took the words right out of my mouth. Ms. Cox is so patient and well-spoken (and asserted herself gracefully with Wendy Williams, too). With all the debates recently about what words society is “allowed” to use, it’s refreshing to see someone who is SO visible right now essentially rise above that fray and use her platform to deal with the human aspect of being transgender. It’s very grounding and powerful.
I think she’s pretty awesome. 🙂
jayj150
Sorry to say, but Cox still sounds and looks like a man in a dress. You can’t change the manly facial features or the larger than average(for real women) cranial shape, and you can still see a hint of his Adam’s apple.
manjoguy
And does anyone really like Katie Couric?!!
M___Townsend
@jayj150: JayJ, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder; to me she is stunning. Why are you determined to root-out her perceived masculinity? Is it because you deny her womanhood is authentic?
Transpeople do not have to ‘pass’, for anybody. Transpeople are beautiful just the way they are.