New York, May 30 (IANS) Actress-Reality TV star Laverne Cox has become the first transgender to feature on the cover of Time magazine.
“I think there are more media representations that young trangender people can look to and say, that’s me, in an affirming way. There’s just so many resources out there now that it makes you feel like you’re less alone and gives some sort of sense of, ‘Okay, this is who I am,” eonline.com quoted Cox as saying.
TV host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted a congratulatory message: “LaverneCox is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine. It’s about ‘Time’.”
The actress and transgender advocate candidly opened up about her brave journey and her fight for transgender rights.
“There’s not just one trans (transgender) story. There’s not just one trans experience. And I think what people need to understand is that not everybody who is born feels that their gender identity is in alignment with what they’re assigned at birth, based on their genitalia,” said Cox, who was born physically male.
“If someone needs to express their gender in a way that is different, that is okay, and they should not be denied healthcare. They should not be bullied. They don’t deserve to be victims of violence. That’s what people need to understand,” she added.
Cox said that her story began at a very young age and she had a revelation, when she was just in the third grade.
“Up until that point I just thought that I was a girl and that there was no difference between girls and boys. I think in my imagination I thought that I would hit puberty and I would start turning into a girl,” she said.