Wonder Woman of the Week: Laverne Cox

So, if you’re a professional Netflix binge watcher like myself, you probably know the show Orange is the New Black. If you do not watch it, we cannot be friends. Okay, so I’m kidding, but I am not kidding when I say this show is nothing short of revolutionary. Something, or more importantly, someone that makes this show so revolutionary is the break out character “Sophia Burset,” an African-American Transgender inmate in the prison.

This weeks WWoW is an icon, activist, and first out transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in the acting category, as well as appear on the cover of TIME. Laverne Cox.

Laverne Cox was born in Mobile, Alabama as Roderick Leverne Cox. She was assigned the male gender at birth; a gender to which she felt no attachment. As a child, Laverne was bullied for her gender identity. She, like many other trans individuals, grew up in a world of ridicule and misunderstanding.

Laverne vividly remembers the torment that her peers put her through. She was called names, chased home from school, and threatened with physical violence. Though the other children were the perpetrators, she blamed herself for their actions. This relentless bullying almost pushed her into suicide at the young age of eleven. Now, she combats the bullying by trying to change the way society views gender and gender assignment.

What has made it harder for Trans individuals, however, is the lack of positive representation in the media, something that Laverne takes very seriously, as she believes it could save many young lives. She states that

"Sophia is written as a multi-dimensional character who the audience can really empathize with—all of the sudden they’re empathizing with a real Trans person. And for Trans folks out there, who need to see representations of people who are like them and of their experiences, that’s when it becomes really important."

Laverne has enveloped herself in activism. She has taken her stance of “moving beyond gender expectations to live more authentically” to a global level. Her interviews and have been featured on many national TV and radio networks, and have been watched online all over the world.

“I hope that people out there now can associate being transgender with being accomplished, being successful and achieving your dreams”-Laverne Cox

This week's WWoW was written by guest writer Danielle Boivin. If you are interested in writning your own blog post or want to hear more from Danielle, let me know.