“Ain’t I a woman?” asked Laverne Cox, a transgender advocate and critically acclaimed actress from Netflix’s “Orange Is The New Black” as she began her transformation story at Keene State College last Friday, Nov. 15.
Students who attended the event held in the Mabel Brown Room said Cox’s courage and unencumbered pride to be herself and inspire others to be themselves was prevalent throughout the recollection of her story.
Cox went into detail of the hardships she faced as a child, how she dealt with overcoming adversity and her transformation into the strong, proud, African American, transgender woman says she is today.
“I believe it is important to claim my identities publicly and with pride, because I have not always been able to do that,” Cox said of her multiple-identity background.
With students packed into the room, Cox began her influential speech with statistics that put transgender issues into perspective.
“Seventy-eight percent of transgender people report experiencing disrespect, harassment and work discrimination on the job. Twenty-six percent report having lost a job or not even been hired simply because they are transgender. Seventy eight percent of students in grades K through twelve who have expressed a transgender or gender non-conforming identity report experiencing harassment. The homicide rate in the LGBTQ community is the highest amongst transwomen. Last year, almost fifty-four percent of all LGBTQ homicides were transwomen. It’s a state of emergency across this country for so many girls like me,” Cox said.
Leah Mulroney / Equinox Staff: “Orange is the New Black” actress and transgender activist speaks in the Mabel Brown Room about bullying and self realization.
This past week, Nov. 11 through Nov. 17, was Trans Awareness Week across the country.
Lucy Briggs, sophomore and PR representative for KSC Pride, said she was excited for Cox to bring her story to KSC.
“To have somebody who can come speak who is part of the trans group, who can inspire people who are trans and who can give that voice to the trans community—it’s just so inspiring,” Briggs said.
Cox grew up as a curious gender nonconformist child in Alabama with a single mother and a twin brother from a working class family, she explained.
Throughout her speech, she told stories of various problems she faced in childhood.
According to Cox, she was ridiculed at school, bullied by negligent classmates, and sent to therapy by worried teachers and adults.
Cox said she found that simply being who she is was extremely difficult for others to accept.
“I learned that being myself was a problem,” Cox said, “I didn’t feel safe at home, I didn’t feel safe at school. Where I did feel safe was in my imagination.”
At a young age, Cox became successful in dance, public speaking, writing, acting and other outlets, allowing for her imagination to grow and let her become who she wanted to be.
Caitlin Kelly, a sophomore at KSC and attendee of the event, realized this too.
“I loved hearing about Laverne’s childhood,” Kelly said, “it’s so important for people to become more knowledgeable about the transgender process.”
She continued, “It’s something I think people tend to be scared of because they just don’t know about it.”
In the early 1990s, Cox moved to New York City in search of her dream.
Though confident in herself as a gender nonconforming man, NYC offered a new sense of reality.
“New York City was the place I could be myself,” Cox said.
Cox became a member of New York City’s prominent club scene where she met people from all different groups and identities.
For the first time in her life, she felt that her gender nonconformity was celebrated as she immersed herself with the “club kids” and the self-pronounced “freaks” of NYC.
“I felt like a star, I felt special, I felt like in some ways I was home. All of the bullying I experienced as a kid somehow melted away and got me to where I was in New York,” Cox said.
She went on, “I was done living in shame.”
Cox smiled, recalling Tina Sparkles, an African American drag queen she had met in a club bathroom.
Throughout the years of knowing Sparkles, Cox got the opportunity to view Tina Sparkle’s transition first-hand.
“She went from a really sweet queen with bad skin to this elegant, sophisticated woman with flawless skin,” Cox said, “watching her transformation, I thought, ‘if Tina can do this, what can I do?’”
The event gave KSC students the chance to see exactly what Cox’s transition did for her as a successful African American, transgender actress, advocate, producer, writer and motivational speaker. The event opened the eyes of some people who may not have known about the transgender community prior to Laverne’s talk, including Julia Rasku, senior and president of KSC Pride, who was excited for Cox to present her story to students.
“If people talk about something without knowing what it is, that may lead to discrimination,” Rasku said, “This is a moment to further our understanding of transgender issues, as well as the world.”
Briggs chimed in on the event’s success.
“Her story is something that is able to touch everyone,” Briggs said.
“She has not only gone through the transition, she has become somebody in the media and she is now able to share her story through her success.”
Laverne’s speech seemed to inspire many students and may have allowed others to gain knowledge on an issue they may not have been aware of prior to the event.
Stephanie McCann can be contacted at Stephanie.McCann@ksc.keene.edu
