*As a well-known advocate for transgender women, Laverne Cox very familiar with the power of her celebrity.
While some folks embrace transgender women, there are those that don’t know how to accept the group, in light of “gender policing,” a practice that the “Orange is the New Black” star says hurts everyone. Particularly men who date transgender women.
In Cox’s eyes, a way to ease tension with this issue is for a male celebrity or a guy who is high profile to come out of the closet and admit to being attracted to and dating transgender women. While that’s a good thought, it could be easier said than done.
“Most men who are attracted to and date transgender women are probably stigmatized more than trans women are,” Cox stated in an interview on SiriusXM Progress. “I think a man who is dating trans women, who is a celebrity, or famous or is an athlete or something, needs to come forward –- or a musician –- and needs to say, ‘I love transgender women and [they] deserve to be loved and I’m going to declare that publicly.’ I think those men need some sort of inspiration and hope, so they can live more authentically.”
“Gender is policed in such a way that it does not just affect transgender people,” she added. “It affects gay-identified men, straight-identified men. And straight-identified men [who are] deeply policed. As I date a lot of straight-identified men, I’ve seen them so deeply internalize these ideas very rigidly about what it means to be a man -– to be a straight man.”
Cox’s comments come amid the recent release of the third season of “Orange is the New Black,” which can currently be seen on Netflix. As for what viewers can expect, Cox mentioned that her character, transgender prison inmate Sophia Burset, will be going through some stuff that hits home in real life for many transgender people.
“Episode 12 is when it really goes down for Sophia,” an emotional Cox explained. “What she experiences in that episode is unfortunately the reality for far too many transgender people, whether they’re incarcerated or not, but particularly for trans women who are incarcerated. And when I read that script, I bawled. I cried a lot. I was like, ‘Are they really doing this? Are they really doing this?’ But this is the truth. It was deeply triggering for me because of who I am. And I just immediately knew it was bigger than me and I had to honor this story and these circumstances. And I hope I did. It was hard to play. It was hard to read it, let alone play it and experience it.”
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