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We all know that there is nothing that
Laverne Cox cannot do!
The Emmy-nominated actress, activist and stunning spokesperson has been a bright light for years and is currently the producer of the amazing Netflix documentary
Disclosure, which chronicles the history of transgender representation on television and film.
Looking at films from as early as 1914 to the Oscar-winning film
Boys Don’t Cry to
our personal fave Pose, the doc, directed by Sam Feder, includes Cox and other Black trans voices including
Mj Rodriquez,
Alexandra Gray and
Tiq Milan. Given that we’re currently in Pride Month
and in the midst of a revitalized Black Lives Matter movement sparked by the deaths of
George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor and countless others this film is right on time. Not to mention, a few weeks ago two Black trans women were murdered—
Riah Melton and
Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells—along with that violent attack against a Black trans woman in Minnesota,
Iyanna Dior. Centering their lives matter and how our Black trans sisters and brothers are reflected on the large and small screen plays a role in how we treat them.
Throughout
Disclosure, Cox gives an array of thoughtful, historical and emotional insight on how she internalized a lot of the early trans representation, most of which at the time was violent, frightful and cruel. Given that Cox was the first trans actress to be nominated for an Emmy for her role as Sophia from
Orange is The New Black, her commentary is more than necessary.
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“For a very long time, the ways in which trans people have been represented on screen have suggested that we’re not real, have suggested that we’re mentally ill, that we don’t exist. And yet, here I am. Yet here we are and we’ve always been here,” Cox says in the film.
She’s right, she has always been here: beautiful, vibrant, full of life and giving us joy. One place she always exudes happiness, plus throwing out a few nuggets of empowering wisdom, is on her Instagram page.
So if you need a daily dose of #TransisBeautiful and a reminder that Black trans women are not going anywhere, take a look at Laverne Cox living her best life on the ‘Gram.
