Earlier this week, Orange Is The New Black star and trans activist Laverne Cox took to Tumblr to share her thoughts about Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair debut. She stars by complimenting the cover and explaining how moving it is to see the love and support people are expressing for Jenner. But she also goes on to add that the value of transwomen shouldn’t be connected to how glamorous they are. “Yes, Caitlyn looks amazing and is beautiful,” Cox writes, “but what I think is most beautiful about her is her heart and soul, the ways she has allowed the world into her vulnerabilities. The love and devotion she has for her family and that they have for her. Her courage to move past denial into her truth so publicly. These things are beyond beautiful to me.” Cox goes on to add:
Most trans folks don’t have the privileges Caitlyn and I have now have. It is those trans folks we must continue to lift up, get them access to healthcare, jobs, housing, safe streets, safe schools and homes for our young people. We must lift up the stories of those most at risk, statistically trans people of color who are poor and working class. I have hoped over the past few years that the incredible love I have received from the public can translate to the lives of all trans folks. Trans folks of all races, gender expressions, ability, sexual orientations, classes, immigration status, employment status, transition status, genital status etc.. I hope, as I know Caitlyn does, that the love she is receiving can translate into changing hearts and minds about who all trans people are as well as shifting public policies to fully support the lives and well being of all of us. The struggle continues…
The full article is well worth a read and available over on Cox’s Tumblr.