The media industry can very easily get it wrong when it comes to covering controversial issues in society. But every now and again, some news outlets get it oh so right. And this week, TIME magazine did just that.
On Wednesday, TIME revealed that Laverne Cox would be the first transgender person to grace their cover, for a story titled ‘The Transgender Tipping Point – America’s next civil rights frontier’. This comes after TIME failed to include Cox in this year’s 100 list.
Thanks @TIME for this lovely bday present, a cover story 2 highlight the profound issues trans people face everyday. pic.twitter.com/kZpNQcbued
— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) May 29, 2014
The June 9 cover story brings transgender awareness to the forefront. Cox took to Facebook to express her sentiments.
“I realize this is way bigger than me and about a tipping point in our nation’s history where it is no longer acceptable for trans lives to be stigmatized, ridiculed, criminalized and disregarded. This is for my trans siblings out there and for anyone who has ever been told that who you know yourself to be at your core is not legitimate. You are who you know yourselves to be.”
Laverne Cox has recently become the face of the transgender movement, propelled by the success of her role as trans woman Sophia Burset on Orange Is The New Black. Cox has been influential in changing transgender discourse from its focus on genitalia to a focus on the discrimination felt by the trans community, as seen in a now infamous interview with Katie Couric.
Our world is trapped in this binary definition of gender and people are failing to notice how this is taking its toll on those who identify as transgender. One study highlights how 41 per cent of trans people will attempt suicide, compared to 1.6 per cent of the general population.
Arcade Fire recently released a music video for their gay-rights anthem, We Exist, starring Andrew Garfield as a transgender woman coming to terms with her gender identity. Although receiving criticism from transgender Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace, I find the video to be immensely powerful. It’s videos like this that allow young audiences to feel empowered to accept their own identity.
I applaud TIME magazine for shedding some light on a sensitive topic that the media often skirts around. This mainstream news outlet has made the bold move of starting a global conversation about the culture surrounding the transgender movement. It’s about time.
