Laverne Cox has spoken out about male privilege and the gender revolution
Icon Laverne Cox has spoken out about male privilege and what the gender revolution means to her and the rest of the trans community.
Writing on twitter, Cox addressed the issue of male privilege and her thoughts that she had about the topic while talking to her twin brother, M. Lamar.
1.I was talking to my twin brother today about whether he believes I had male privilege growing up. I was a very feminine child though I was
— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) March 11, 2017
The actor explained that her gender was “constantly policed” and prior to her transition she “was called a girl” but following it she is “often called a man”.
However, she stressed that “femininity did not male me feel privileged”, contrary to the narrative that suggests “all trans women transition from male privilege” – a narrative which erases trans women experiences and “isn’t intersectional”.
The Orange is the New Black star wrote: “Gender is constituted differently based on the culture we live in. There’s no universal experience of gender, of womanhood. To suggest that is essentialist & again not intersectional.
“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 star went on to add that media portrayal of trans people plays into gender policing because it focuses on the idea of a “macho guy becomes a woman”, another narrative that is not the story of Cox or other trans people that she knows.
“So though I was assigned male at birth I would contend that I did not enjoy male privilege prior to my transition.
“Patriarchy and cissexism punished my femininity and gender nonconformity,” she added.
Cox finished the twitter thread by envisioning a “gender revolution,” one of “true gender self determination.”
“That explosion is the gender revolution I imagine, one of true gender self determination.”
