From appearing on the cover of TIME magazine, to becoming the first African-American transgender woman to have a lead role in a mainstream, scripted television series, Laverne Cox has used her fame to bring awareness to this community and make a difference in the lives of others by speaking at conventions and universities, such as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, in order to spread her message.

Cox said it is important to her to share her journey with others because people’s strengths lie in their stories.

“I like to allude to Brene Brown’s work,” Cox said. “She said, ‘We either live in the truth of our stories or we stand outside our stories and hustle for worthiness.’ The piece of owning my story is really about self-empowerment; I think that’s how we can connect with other people and how we can feel we are not alone.”

Born Roderick Laverne Cox, she grew up in a household with her single mother and twin brother in Mobile, Ala. Her mother, being a schoolteacher, placed a high level of importance on education.

Cox began her education and journey into the transgender community years later in New York City, when she met Tina Sparkles. Cox met Sparkles at a nightclub called Webster Hall at their weekly Friday night party titled “The Make-up Room.” Sparkles asked to borrow her powder and the two became instant friends.

Cox said if it were not for the women she met at these clubs, including Sparkles, she would not have begun her 16-year medical transition.

“I watched her transform from a statuesque queen into a woman with flawless skin and thought, ‘If Tina can do this, what can I do?’” Cox said.

Cox said she had imagined her transition would go something like Sparkles’ did; within three years she would be able to live a full life as a female. However, more than eight years into her journey, Cox discovered this wasn’t the case.

“It made me feel like a failure, like people weren’t seeing me for the woman that I was,” Cox said. “It took years to realize if people could look at me and tell I was [transgender], that’s a beautiful thing. Being [transgender] is beautiful, something to be celebrated and not ashamed of.”

Cox said many people would confront her, and other transgender women, and instigate fights, pointing out loudly that they are men. Cox said it can become very dangerous and often unsafe for transgender women to leave their homes.

“Calling a transgender woman a man is an act of violence,” Cox said. “This is why I feel that transgenders are some of most courageous people in the world.”

Cox said her mother and brother support her wholeheartedly and that this is a journey that cannot be taken alone; it’s important to have support.

“Finding someone who loves and supports us as our authentic selves is key,” Cox said. “It’s been really painful for me to live my life when I wasn’t being fully true to myself; it’s not worth it to live a lie. Living authentically is the best way to be happy.”

Cox began expression of her desired gender from a young age. By the time she reached third grade, Cox had already experienced a multitude of bullying and harassment due to her gender expression.

Third grade was also the year Cox was placed into therapy to “fix” these gender expression problems. Cox said at one point, the therapist asked what the difference was between girls and boys, and Cox responded by stating there isn’t one.

“Everyone was telling me I was a boy, but I knew I was a girl, so I thought there must not be any difference,” Cox said.

After years of begging, Cox finally convinced her mother to enroll her in dance classes — a hobby that had quickly become a passion. She could watch choreography on television and mimic it perfectly; it was her dream to become a professional dancer. Cox would create characters in her head and bring them to life through dance.

Cox said getting the opportunity to study something she loved was, in a way, a saving grace.

“I believe if we can find something in this world we are passionate about, it can be truly lifesaving,” Cox said.

For college, Cox enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington as a dance major with an academic scholarship. However, soon thereafter, she transferred to Marymount Manhattan College and was finally in New York City.

Cox said, to her, New York City was a place of possibility and self-discovery, with much of her education happening in the nightclub scene. She was surprised to see how her gender expression was celebrated and she could feel fabulous — like a celebrity.

Since making her journey, Cox has collected many awards and impacted many lives with her work. She became the first transgender African-American woman to produce and star in her own television show, VH1’s “TRANSForm Me.” She also stars in the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”

“If it weren’t for the success of this show, I wouldn’t be here at this school. I wouldn’t be doing this tour and I wouldn’t have been on the cover of TIME magazine,” Cox said. “The show has changed my life for the better and exposed me to an audience who wouldn’t know me otherwise. It’s pretty awesome; I’m really grateful for the show, the writers, all my directors and the public who has taken so wonderfully to it.”

Cox said being on the cover of TIME was an amazing opportunity and experience.

“I don’t know if I’ve fully processed it because it is a big deal,” Cox said. “Although it’s a personal milestone for me, I think it’s important to remember that [transgender] folks have not overcome [everything]; there are still struggles that [transgender] folks have in this country and me being on the cover of TIME magazine doesn’t erase that.”

Freshman nursing major Jennifer Kohl, of Algonquin, had seen Cox in a documentary regarding transgenders and was inspired by Cox to become a part of the movement to support transgenders.

“I thought it was strange at first how she kept saying, ‘Ain’t I a woman,’” Kohl said. “But then I realized she’s making a statement saying it in a sexy way. She is a woman and she wants to be known as that; that was a really great opening in my mind.”

Campus Activities Board graduate student James McLendon, of Springfield, said CAB wants to support students and provide open and safe areas to do so.

“It’s an effort to make sure we are covering all cultural groups,” McLendon said. “We want to make sure that on our end, as CAB, we are providing all kinds of opportunities for students to be comfortable enough to come out, enjoy something and have someone they might look up to be able to tell their story.”

Cox ended her talk by challenging students to take risks, be vulnerable and have difficult conversations with the ones they love. Cox said she hopes students are able to take a large deal away from her talks and translate it into their everyday lives.

“I like to get people thinking about their own lives existing in multiple spaces of identity,” Cox said. “I hope it encourages them to get to know people who are different from them and to create a safe space to have conversations and be inspired to accept themselves more.”

Caitlin Grove

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