Social Justice Event- Laverne Cox

I attended Laverne Cox’s talk at Rhode Island College. I learned so much about her life and what growing up is like for an African American, transgender person in the south. Laverne Cox felt like she was a mistake growing up. She was ashamed of who she was because it was not the norm, especially in a place like Mobile, Alabama. She was bullied for her gender expression and for being herself. Cox knew from the beginning that she was not like other kids. In third grade she was sent to a therapist because her teacher had told her mom something was wrong with her. The therapist asked if she knew the difference between boys and girls. Cox said, “There is no difference.” Because of hearing that, I learned that children do not grow up thinking about differences based on gender until society starts imposing them.

Laverne Cox says we need safe spaces for today’s youth to express their gender identity. Young people today have more examples of gender expression in society but not enough. “Children's cartoons, movies, and literature are perhaps the most influential genre” (Christensen 127). Linda Christensen discusses how childhood entertainment influences people. When children’s movies and books do not show any out of the ordinary gender expression, children may feel that they have to express gender in the “normal” way. Young children are very easily influenced and there are many articles that show why children’s media promotes gender stereotypes.

Laverne Cox was born into a low-income household. She had a single mother who taught reading at public schools in Mobile. "A child born in the bottom quintile of incomes in the United States has only a 4 percent chance of rising to the top quintile, according to a Pew study" (Kristoff 2). Nicholas Kristof points out how rare it is for someone growing up poor to become rich. Laverne Cox is one of the people who has done that. She is self-made and tried so hard for so long to make something of herself and she did and is now worth over two million dollars.

Laverne Cox felt ashamed of who she was growing up because she was not taught that being born in the wrong body is a real thing that happens. “Safe Spaces- Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth” by Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan Kennedy discusses how classrooms can be inclusive to youth who identify as LGBTQI+. The authors say that, “Sexual orientation topics are entirely absent from nearly half our elementary teacher education programs in the United States” (Vaccaro, August, Kennedy 85). When educators are not taught about sexual orientation topics, children can feel left out because of their sexual orientation or their home life, for example having two dads. An article I found, 12 Ways to Make Your Classroom Safe for LGBTQ Students” by Kelly Huegel Madrone discusses different ways to make a classroom inclusive to all students, regardless of sexual or gender orientation. Madrone says some important ways to make your classroom inclusive are to have LGBTQ-inclusive materials present in your classroom, be aware of your language, and to have resources available so your future students feel safe and welcome in your classroom.

I really enjoyed seeing Laverne Cox speak and encourage anyone who has a chance to see her speak in the future to go and see her!

A picture I took at the event.