LAVERNE COX

Portrait of dancer and actress Laverne Cox, the first African American transgender woman to produce and star in her own television show [“TRANSform Me”], by Béatrice de Géa, 2011

“I have such respect for drag queens,” said Ms. Cox…“But what is troubling about the mainstreaming of drag, and people conflating drag and being transsexual, is that people think this is a joke. My identity is not a joke. Who I am as a woman is not a joke. This is my life.”

 

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Laverne In Acting Class

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Laverne Cox is an actress, producer and transgender advocate who made television history when she became the first African American transgender woman to appear on an American reality show with her appearance as a finalist on VH1's "I Want to Work for Diddy.  “I Want to Work for Diddy” won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

Laverne’s popularity subsequently led her to star in, co-create and co-produce her own show called "Transform Me,” making her the first African American trans woman to produce and star in her own television show.  "TRANSform Me" was nominated for a GLAAD media award for Outstanding Reality Program. 

As an actress Laverne has had guest starring roles on "Law and Order", "Law and Order: SVU", and HBO’s "Bored to Death." She can be seen in the forthcoming  independent films “Musical Chairs” directed by Susan Seidelman,  “Carl(a),”  “Grand Street” and “The Exhibitionists.” Her other film credits include “Uncle Stephanie”, "Bronx Paradise," "The Kings of Brooklyn" and "Daughter of Arabia.  

Laverne continues to be an advocate for transgender representation in the media.  Laverne is passionate about telling stories in the media that reflect the full depth, diversity and humanity of transgender experience.

>via: http://lavernecox.com/bio 

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Beyond Second-Class

Citizenship for

Transgender People

(VIDEO)

I was so moved by and proud of President Barack Obama's history-making declaration yesterday with this sentence: "For me, personally, I think it's important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think that same-sex couples should be able to get married." This is great news. Marriage equality is indeed an issue for transgender Americans, as well, as evidenced byLittleton v. Prange, and recently by Nikki Araguz's case. But while I believe in and am a huge supporter of marriage equality, as a transgender woman of color, I recognize that there are arguably bigger issues for my trans brothers and sisters, issues like employment and health-care discrimination and violence against transgender people, particularly trans women of color.

This is why I went to Albany, N.Y. Tuesday for Equality and Justice Day. I wanted to lend my voice to the support of the passage of the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA). Many transgender folks are fighting for our lives and basic civil rights all over this country, and to have those rights acknowledged by our legislature in the state of New York right now. For the fifth year in a row, the state assembly has passed GENDA, but the bill has yet to come to the floor for a vote in the Senate. This bill is about acknowledging that trans folks should have the same rights as everyone else. That's all. It's simple. This is America. Equal access and opportunity are what we're supposed to be about.

WATCH:

Follow Laverne Cox on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Lavernecox

>via: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laverne-cox/transgender-rights_b_1506180.html