Laverne Cox talks about male privilege and a true gender revolution

Whether she’s voicing her support for trans teen Gavin Grimm at the Grammys, urging TV executives to cast more transgender actors and actresses, or discussing beauty standards governed by cisgender women, Laverne Cox always gives us reason to pause and evaluate how to best support those who face a constant societal wall of disproportionate and relentless discrimination.

Over the weekend, Cox expressed more of her thoughts in an engaging Twitter thread in which she shares a conversation with twin brother M. Lamar about whether Cox had male privilege growing up.

“My gender was constantly policed,” Cox notes, which isn’t surprising since trans children disproportionately face extreme violence and bullying. Paradoxically, however, Cox points out that prior to her transition, she “was called a girl.” After, she says she is “often called a man.”

“Gender policing & the fact that gender binaries can only exist through strict policing complicates the concept [of] gendered privilege & that’s OK cause it’s complicated,” she wrote.

The media’s portrayal of trans people also often gets it wrong, she adds, because it tends to focus on “macho guy becomes a woman,” Cox tweeted. “That’s certainly not my story or the stories of many trans folks I know.”

Alternatively, what Cox envisions is nothing short of a “gender revolution,” one of “true gender self determination.” If that is to happen one day, we certainly won’t forget Laverne Cox’s pioneering role as a tireless, talented, and inspiring revolutionary constantly pushing us to think and act.